Lucky Strike
by NatasyaFR
Summary: Carson Phillips was struck by lightning, but miraculous thing happened - he remained alive and tried to reach what he had been dreaming for years. He was on his way to New York, but the road brought him to another wrong side of the track; Lima, Ohio. More magazines,more blackmail... romance? warning: OC. please kindly review :)
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hi! First of all, this is my first fan fiction to be published on this site. I've written some, but I published them on Tumblr or I just left it on my documents. I'm sorry if there are some grammar errors in this story, because English is not my first language. I wrote this story on January and finished on April, but I had no time to publish it. Now, that I have the chance, I finally can share this one to you guys :) This is my first author's note, so I don't know what to write anymore and I just let the story to speak for itself. Enjoy :) feel free to leave a review._

_Struck By Lightning/Glee Crossover_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 1**

It was a usual morning at William McKinley High School. The carbon odor that came out from students' cars mixed with early morning breath and the smell of cheeseburgers that the lunch lady cooked for noon were wafted from the edge of the school entrance. The loud noise of broken exhausts and the shout of jocks who were throwing geeks and nerds off to the dumpster had become the morning tune for the past years. It was always the same here in McKinley High. It became a morning tradition that the seniors inherited from one generation to the next.

This kind of situation was not the situation that Carson Phillips used to have. Born and raised in a small town known as Clover with the number of population less than ten thousands made him a little bit uncomfortable at first_. _Plotting his death and made the whole city believe it was even more uncomfortable.

It started on March 15th afternoon. He finally found the only thing that made him happy; finished his unfinished story. He made a story about a boy who wanted to fly and he read it to his grandma when he was 12, and until his senior year in Clover High he never finished the story. Before he published his first literally magazine, Carson thought it would be nice to complete the story and put it in the magazine. The boy who wished to have the ability to fly finally could fly.

_Once upon a time, there was a boy who flew…_

It was the happiest moment in Carson's life. When Carson went home and was about to get into his 1973 Carvair, suddenly a big lightning bolt struck Carson's body. He could feel the lightning was just an inch away from his head and the electric shock ran through his veins. He collapsed on the ground, not dead. It was truly a magical moment. Nobody could survive from a lightning that strong. It could kill most people, but not Carson. Maybe it was because of his big journalistic dreams that shielded him from the thunder.

The lightning strike suddenly turned Carson 180°. He was the optimistic with big dreams and sneaky brain Carson and he suddenly turned into the hopeless pessimistic with no dream and lack of self confidence Carson.

_What if those misfit students didn't like my magazine?_

_What if they would mock me for the rest of my life?_

_Fuck this._

_I will be out of this town in one month._

_I can't let these thoughts bugging me around like fleas on buffalos' hair._

_What if Northwestern didn't accept my magazine-this hard work-because it is filled with works from students that are not Northwestern-worth, or the New Yorker-worth?_

_I will be out of here._

_And I'm going to do it now._

_Why do we have to wait when there is nothing that holds your back?_

_Sure, my mom's attempt to hold me back is great-but in what world?_

_Nobody can crush my dreams._

_NOBODY, not even me, can be bigger than my dreams._

_My dreams are bigger than the Empire State, and that is where I'm going._

_Clover, from now on, I'm saying goodbye to you._

_Take care of my mom, take care of my dad, take care of my grandma, and take care of my unwanted friends._

_Because Carson Phillips is heading to the east, and no one will ever find out because I'm going to make up my own death story._

_Carson Phillips; died because of the lightning strike, rest in peace in New York where he belongs._

Shortly afterwards, Carson was conscious. He looked paler than snow in winter, but he didn't forget to do the last touch up of his hair before heading to his car. He ran to the car, still running his fingers through his hair and made his crest higher than Elvis'.

Carson always kept his ray-ban sunglasses on his dashboard. He knew when the right time to get in style with shades was, and the right time was when he drove his bad-ass ride that his grandfather gave to him before he died of a heart attack. Carson put on his sunglasses and headed off to the exit of the town.

On his halfway to cross the border to the new world, Carson met a boy his age. He was thinner than Carson, he wore a beanie hat, and his hair was his shoulder long. He went to the same school as Carson. Carson never had a conversation with that boy before, but he was famously known as the tattletale in his school. People called him _the Fly_, since he was a big spy in a tiny body. He could spread a gossip in just a snap. That boy was like '_the Perez Hilton of Clover_'. He could spread the information he had about someone, but he respected the man behind the scandal. He also could lie and made up a gossip about someone without revealing the truth behind it-_and that was what Carson need along with his escape_.

"Yo, the Fly!"

Carson pulled over to the right side of the road, approaching the Fly who was eating his corn dog that he bought at a diner nearby. He pulled off his shades, showing his greenish-bluish pair of eyes towards the sunlight.

The Fly quit eating. He threw his half-bitten corn dog away and wiped his mouth full of mustard with his bare hand.

"'s up?"

The Fly greeted Carson calmly. For a man with gossips filled inside his head, he was a calm guy and he didn't consider his work as a tattletale a problem.

"Listen, I've never asked a walking TMZ for a help before, but I need your help." Carson asked the Fly.

The Fly opened his arms wide to show his mighty and how much he could help Carson. "Dude, whatever you want me to do, I can do that." He looked like Justin Bieber with swag, but with less perfume and girls—girls at his school hated him so much, because sometimes he flirted on them and asked for second base afterwards. "Geez, okay. I have a gossip to spread to, come here," Carson pulled the Fly's hoodie and he whispered on his ear. _Tell the whole Clover that Carson Phillips is died because of a lightning strike and his body is never found because he was burned by the lightning until the last piece of his bone._

The Fly furrowed his forehead. He said, "Dude, but you're here," He gestured his hands through Carson's silhouette and continued, "You're alive." Carson looked around in disappointment and bit his mouth wall_. I knew he won't believe me that easy._ Carson sighed and said "Okay, how much do you want?" he shoved his pants pocket, looking for his wallet. He opened the wallet and tried to find a piece of $5 that he could give to the Fly as bribe. The Fly didn't work for money; he worked for entertainment and girls. So, when Carson gave him the money, he refused. "Nah, man. I don't work for money, in fact I'm gonna spread that shit like—"—_Nutella_— "The sunlight!" The Fly pointed his index finger over Carson. _Well, that was not the phrase Carson expected._ "Man, it is important to save the Mother Nature!" the Fly threw his fist to the air like he was an environment activist. Carson laughed because he had never seen an environment caring drunk man before. "Dude, before you puke on my baby," Carson spanked the front seat next to him "I have to go, and you should too. Remember, spread that gossip, k?" Carson wore his shades again and pointed at the Fly like Uncle Sam. The Fly saluted Carson as he faded away to the mirage.

* * *

As Carson travelled to the other side of the States, his death rumor started to outspread to the whole Clover. "… Your son's body is never found, because it was burned and nothing left. _I'm really sorry_," the Fly tried to deliver the news in his own way—with fake tears and fake regret. Carson's mom, Sheryl, couldn't stand hearing about his son's death. She half-collapsed on her mom's—Carson's grandma—embrace. Neal, Carson's dad, almost had a heart attack, although he didn't have a heart disease record. His new fiancée, April Adams, was shocked. She barely knew Carson until Neal asked him to have a dinner with the two of them. April kept rubbing her pregnant tummy and tears ran down her soft snow white cheeks. She was sympathetic with the situation. She wanted to help, but clearly there was still a small amount of jealousy in Sheryl's heart, that every time she turned her head to April, the only word that had 90% possibility came out from Sheryl's mouth was "_It's none of your beeswax, bitch_."

Carson's friends believed the story and they made a special ceremony to respect Carson. Clover high was filled with flowers in different colors and photographs of the man, and they circled around the place that they believed was the place where Carson was died (The Fly just made up that Carson was struck by lightning on the football field, but clearly he was struck at the parking lot, but no one knew). Carson's best friend, Malerie Baggs, was in real deep grief. She was the one Carson believed to tell his life to, and she was the one who helped Carson to blackmail the popular kids to write for his literally magazine. Malerie couldn't hold her tears running down her chubby cheeks, even when she documented Carson's symbolic funeral.

The weirdest thing about Carson's fake death was, _why did nobody ask where did Carson's car go? _If he was really struck by lightning, the car was still on the parking lot, waiting for the owner that would never come forever. _But, how did the car disappear?_ No one realized that. They didn't give a damn on Carson's car, though. They thought his car was taken by a hobo or someone needed. _At least Carson did a little give back after his left_.

And also, _Carson's body_. His body was never found because it was still fully functioned, as well as his soul. _The only thing that died because of the lightning strike was Carson's sanity_. He left his old life behind and started a new life ahead. He knew it was a big risk for him to leave the town, but _a big dream goes with a big risk_, that was the quote that made Carson sure about his decision. He drove away—_far, far away_. He didn't stop, not a chance. He just went through the highway to New York, until he realized that he had to get into the University of his Dream, Northwestern University, before he went to New York and became the editor of the New Yorker. And before he entered the University, he had to finish high school first. _Crap! Carson forgot the last part. _No matter how stink high school was, finishing his study there was the ticket to get into the Northwestern, and studying in Northwestern was the ticket to work in the New Yorker. Carson was confused. How could he think so short? _The lightning that struck him must be the root of the problem._

Carson was frustrated. He almost reached Illinois—he changed his destination since the gate to New York was still closed—but he was still not sure about his decision to go to Illinois. He could finish his high school in Illinois, but he took the wrong way_, literally_. Instead of exiting the highway and went straight to Illinois, he chose to went straight and ended up in Ohio. _Ohio_, it was weird because the state sounded like when people said hi to each other, but in a weird way.

Carson arrived in Ohio at midnight and ended up in a town called Lima. He went to a motel nearby to freshen up. He also stayed there, until he found a proper place to live. The next day, he asked the receptionist for a high school around the city. "Well, there's a school called William McKinley High not far from here, you could go there. Or, the Dalton Academy, it's an all-boys school in Westerville, but I don't think you're into that kind of stuff." Said the motel receptionist, a Hispanic 40 year-old lady, while examining Carson's messy appearance after his extreme attempt of living Clover. _What kind of stuff?_ Carson thought. Maybe he didn't look all dashing and rich, so the woman didn't recommend Dalton as much as McKinley. "Well, I'll go to McKinley, thanks." Carson took a map of Lima that he asked before, and went straight to McKinley High.

He might be too late to get into a new school, because graduation was in just a month, but he needed to complete his study. Thank God he kept his school certificate and other documents in his trunk, so he could use them whenever he needed. After he processed his school transfer and got his textbooks, locker number, and time table, Carson went to his locker. He tried to open his locker with the combination that the administration lady gave him, but it seemed like the locker was jammed.

"Gah," Carson groaned, trying to open his jammed locker.

Everybody thought someone was watching porn at school, but clearly the groaning came from Carson who was struggling to open his locker.

Still trying to open his locker, suddenly a hand smaller and softer than Carson's touched the back of Carson's hand and released it off the rotating handle. He looked at who it was, and turned out it was a girl. A girl with a long brunette hair that curled in the end and a pair of shimmering big black eyes and thick eyelashes that could swipe away all the sadness of the people who looked at her. In Carson's eyes, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. "You know, this locker used be mine, but it was jammed all the time and it stressed me out, so I asked for a locker change," The girl said with her luscious red lips. "But, I'll try to open it, okay?" the girl rubbed her both palms and tried to open the locker with might and main. But, it was still stuck. The girl sighed. "Do you still want to use this locker? Because, I have a crowbar in my locker, if you want to give a try—"before she could say _I'll take it_, Carson cut her. "You don't need to do all this for me, I—I'll just ask for another locker." Carson smirked. His smirked could make all the girls swoon. The girl laughed, "Yeah, I think you should just ask for another locker. Hi, I haven't introduced myself formally, so," she put out his hand and Carson shook it gently. He didn't want to hurt the girl's hand. "The name's Starla. What's yours?" said the girl, raised her right eyebrow. "Carson. Carson Phillips." Carson said. Starla pulled her hand back and gestured Carson to walk around the school before the school started. "So, you must be new here," Starla said. Carson nodded. "And what kind of air that brought you into this place? You know, Lima is not the place for newbie. Instead of staying here, people in Lima are trying to get out of this mess." Carson gulped. He tried to make up a reasonable excuse. _Come on, come on, you can make a magazine, but you can't make up a reason? You gotta be shitting me!_

"My—my parents have a job here, you know, business stuff. So, I have to follow them going from one state to another. Who can't say no to a little adventure?" Carson lied_. Phew, that was close._

Starla laughed. "So, rich and handsome. You must have lots of fans back in your hometown, huh?" she elbowed Carson on his ribs. She might look like a weak girl, but she had a really strong power on her hands. Carson's ribs hurt, like a hammer just hit him. "Not really, they all hate me, because they don't understand my dreams and my passion_. I was born there, but I don't belong there_." Carson scratched the back of his head.

"So, what's your dream that makes them hate you so much?" Starla asked.

"I've always wanted to be in the journalistic world. Become the editor of the New Yorker or Chicago Tribune, and can blow people's mind with my writing," Carson answered. He pointed to the air, like he just got a really kick-ass answer, and said "I also want to get a Nobel Prize." Starla smiled. She never found an ambitious man like Carson before in her entire life. From his words, there was no way his whole hometown hated on him. "Your dreams are really… big, bigger than mine, actually. Nobel Prize? I've never thought about that before." Starla said. Suddenly, Carson's body hindered Starla's steps. Carson was taller than Starla, so he looked like a giant who hindered Thumbelina. "What's your dream that makes you think mine's bigger than yours?" Carson asks.

Starla licked her bottom lips and sighed. She knew it wasn't easy to tell her dreams, because people judged her for her dreams. "My dream is to get out of Lima, go to Harvard, move to LA, and pursue my dreams to be an actress/a singer/a lawyer/an author. Sounds crazy, huh?" Starla glared at Carson. Carson walked beside Starla back and said in a soft voice. "That's not crazy at all. In fact I'm going to salute you if you can pursue those dreams. Keep doing what you're doing, okay?" Carson punched Starla's right arm. He didn't know how to interact with girls, that is why every time Sheryl or Neal asked him if he had a girlfriend or not, he kept saying, _'What's the use of having a girlfriend and end up like you guys when I can chase my dreams and become a head editor of a famous newspaper and make girls come to me easily?'_

"So, we seem to have a similarity. You and I, we both write," Carson shoved both of his hands into his hoodie pockets. "What kind of work you usually write?" Carson asked. His body bumped into Starla's a few times when they were walking, meant that he was quite nervous around her and he couldn't coordinate his move after the long journey to Lima. As soon as they passed the astronomy class full of students who were admiring the beauty of solar system, Starla answered "I love writing stories. In fact, I'm trying to write a novel. And I really wish it could be as phenomenal as _Harry Potter, Twilight_—""_Fifty Shades Series?_" Carson cut Starla again. Starla punched Carson on his chest and shouted "You perv! Ew!" Carson just laughed around in a goofy way. It was his first attempt to make a pervy joke—somehow it was kind of awkward.

As they arrived in front of McKinley High's choir room 30 minutes before the bell rang, Starla pulled Carson's hand to go into the room. "I have to join the glee club meeting before heading to the class, come in, let's see if you have any interest in music or show tune." Starla forced Carson to come inside. "But, I have geography lesson later, I don't want to be late for my first class." Carson reasoned. "I'm in geography class, too. Don't worry, Mr. Newton won't notice our missing."

Finally, Carson followed Starla. That was not what Carson usually did; following people. As he entered the room, a group of people suddenly went into a dead silent. He saw people's faces were surprised and they didn't move a bit. The glee kids were staring at Carson.

_"Kurt?" _a petite man, wearing a maroon shirt buttoned up until the top of its collar and a pair of skinny goldenrod pants with lots of hair gel greased all over his black hair, exclaimed in deep shock. The man who was known as Blaine Anderson stared at Carson like he just saw a ghost. Carson furrowed his forehead, because Blaine just called him with a name that he didn't even know. Starla pushed Carson to the chairs on the corner. They sat on the upper row, on the corner of the room. A few moments later, Carson asked Starla, "What was _that_?" "What was what?" Starla was confused. "You know, why did he call me 'Kurt'? I don't even know any Kurt in my life." Carson glanced at Blaine, who was starting to drip his tears one by one from his hazel eyes. "Hmm," Starla hummed "His name is Blaine. He has a boyfriend named Kurt and they never see each other this few months. They had a pretty rough break up. And I saw this Kurt's photo and he looks pretty much like you," Starla glared at Carson deeply, and continued "_But, you're hotter._" Starla painted a smirk on her cherry red lips. Carson almost flew off from reality and went to heaven for one millisecond. "I'm sure Blaine loves his boyfriend so much." Carson said. "Yeah, they loved each other very much, until a few bumps they couldn't stay together. I feel sorry for them, actually, especially Blaine. He's getting miserable and miserable every day." Starla shook her head while staring at Blaine's hopelessly in love behavior. He looked like he just lost half part of his life.

No longer after feeling sorry for Blaine's life, the teacher who ran the glee club, Mr. William Schuester, came inside. The similar reaction came from Mr. Schuester, who was really shocked after seeing Carson. "Kurt, I didn't know you were coming." Mr. Schue said while putting his papers on the top of the piano.

_"He's not Kurt Hummel,"_ Starla responded, and made the whole glee club glared in confusion.

"His name is Carson Phillips, he is new in town. I brought him here because I wanted to show him McKinley High inside-out, and maybe he is interested in joining the glee club, right?" Starla winked at Carson. Carson had never put his interest in music in his entire life. The only song that he could sing on his best was the national anthem. And he considered joining the glee club? _Insane._

"I'm just accompanying Starla, that's all. I don't sing k." Carson said which made the glee club disappointed. "But, you can audition. Just give it a try, okay? Who knows maybe you're hiding a golden voice all this time." Mr. Schue said calmly. "But, I haven't prepared any song. Maybe if I could audition tomorrow, I could prepare the whole thing. And, trust me, it's gonna be kick-ass." Carson said confidently.

_"Sure, no problem._" Mr. Schue said generously.

_**Please, Kindly review. Thank you :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 2**

Just like what he promised, Carson prepared for his big glee club audition the next day. It was after school ended, Carson practiced really hard for his audition. He chose "Don't You (Forget about Me)" from Simple Minds as his song. He believed that his voice was sort of rock and roll, so he chose a classic rock song. Carson harmonized his voice, trying to reach the entire key in music notes until his voice could adapt with the song.

_Won't you come see about me?_

_I'll be alone, dancing, you know it baby_

_Tell me your troubles and doubts_

_Giving me everything inside and out_

Carson's voice rocked the empty Biology laboratory. His voice was so loud, that the students who were still walking around the hallway—making themselves busy so they wouldn't come home early and had to help their parents do the chores—could hear him singing. And one of the students was Starla Blair.

"Nice voice, told you you can sing," Starla stood at the door, lying on the door frame. Carson wiped the bottom of his lips and smiled. "And when is that exactly?" Carson asked Starla in disbelief. Starla shook her head and came inside. She sat on the top of a table, next to Carson. "It doesn't matter when," Starla leaned her face closer to Carson and continued "What matters is..." Starla teased the man with her gaze and her face was getting closer and closer to Carson's. She could feel the tension between Carson's heavy breath; _he probably thought the girl would do dirty things with him. _Starla continued, "...is that you won't embarrass me in front of the whole glee club with your voice." Carson, who almost passed out, got fooled by Starla. He thought she was going to kiss him or something. He just smiled foolishly and said "yeah, like my voice will be really bad, like frog-bad." "Whoa, have you seen _Meet the Robinsons_? The frogs can sing k?" Starla explored the lab, since she didn't take the class. "Biology lab is kind of interesting, don't you think?" Starla said. Carson, still having trouble breathing, replied "Yeah, if you think cutting a frog and see if it still can jump around is interesting." _Ew, I'll pass_, Starla thought. Starla stood on the corner of the room, looked out to the window that faced the football field. There were still many jocks and cheerleaders who were practicing. And then, Starla looked at Carson. He was reading a piece of music sheet for the audition. He concentrated so hard, he thought the audition would be like a social studies test. Starla giggled, she never found a person concentrated so hard in preparing for a singing audition. On the other side, she thought it was kind of hot when Carson furrowed his forehead and his pale cheeks blushed out—maybe it was because Starla's existence in the room, and Carson couldn't concentrate when there was someone who he really liked was staring at him.

_"What are you going to do in this high school? You know, it's only one month left and we say goodbye forever."_ Starla asked Carson.

Carson looked at the girl. He thought hard, he thought something that he could do—something useful for his future career— and he finally knew the answer. _"I want to finish what is unfinished." _Carson answered. Starla confused. "And what is that?" "I want to make a literally magazine. I made one back at my old high school, and it didn't go well. So, I tried to use my second chance here, in McKinley. And I really hope Northwestern University could look at my hard work and considered me to be their student. And you, lady, you will help me in the process." Carson smirked. Starla gave Carson two palms of objection. "What?! A literally magazine?! A magazine that is filled with students' writings? How can we make students here writing when all they can think of is holiday and holiday?!" Starla refused the idea. _And I have to take a part in the process?! This is crap!_ Starla said in her mind. Starla crossed her arms on her chest. Carson walked closer to her and said "you said that you loved writing, right? Maybe this is the right time for you to show the whole world what you got!" Carson stretched his arms widely. Starla smirked, _she couldn't say no_. "Fine, but you have to do something for me," Starla said. A favor didn't come for free. "Anything." Carson said. He was ready with any help Starla asked to him. "I want to hear you sing. Or, better, _I want to sing a duet with you_." Starla hoped he wouldn't say no, just like when she couldn't say no to help Carson chasing his dream. "What song?" Carson asked. "The one that you're going to sing on the audition. And if you're nervous, I will help you sing it in front of the club." Starla answered. "Fine, besides I do need a little help and my nervous fever just came suddenly, even though I'm not sure why. Did you know that one time I told my friends at school that _most of the Founding Fathers were closeted homosexuals and slave owners_ back when I was a kid? And I get the fever just now?" Carson face palmed him hardly. Starla laughed hard and circled her arm round Carson's shoulders. She thought Carson was quite a humorous guy. "So, shall we sing the song?" Starla asked excitedly. Carson shared the music sheet with her. And as soon as she knew the title, she gave back the music sheet to him. "I love this song! I loved to sing it on shower back when I watched _the Breakfast Club_ twice a day on winter, and the mash up version on _Pitch Perfect_ was aca-fantastic." Starla winked at Carson. "Well, since you love the song, I'll let you sing the first verse, okay, but before that," Carson sang the intro of the song.

_Hey, hey, hey, hey_

_Ooh, oh_

Starla took the first verse, as she promised. Her soprano voice delighted the song and made it fresh. She started to act a little flirty on Carson, since it was their duet.

_Won't you come see about me?_

_I'll be alone, dancing, you know it baby_

_Tell me your troubles and doubts_

_Giving me everything inside and out_

Carson took the second verse. His voice was low pitched, but he could be really high, according to the song he sang. That was something Carson didn't know before.

_And love's strange so real in the dark_

_Think of the tender things that we were working on_

_Slow change may pull us apart_

_When the light gets into your heart, baby_

It was part in which both of them exchange parts. The first _Don't you forget about me_ went to Starla, after that they sang together on the _Don't, don't don't, don't, don't_ part, and the last _Don't you forget about me_ was sung by Carson.

_Don't you forget about me_

_Don't, don't, don't, don't_

_Don't you forget about me_

The next part went to Starla. She sang it more powerful than before.

_Will you stand above me?_

_Look my way, never love me_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down_

The next part went to Carson. They stood face-to-face closer than before.

_Will you recognize me?_

_Call my name or walk on by_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down, down_

Finally, Carson and Starla sang the song in the choir room. Carson belted out this part, just like the first one.

_Hey, hey, hey, hey_

_Ooh, oh_

Carson took the next part, not Starla. After all, it was his audition, not hers. So, he needed to stand out.

_Don't you try to pretend_

_It's my feeling, we'll win in the end_

_I won't harm you or touch your defenses_

_Vanity and security_

Starla took the next part; it was similar to her first part. It was her favorite part of the song.

_Don't you forget about me_

_I'll be alone, dancing, you know it baby_

_Going to take you apart_

_I'll put us back together at heart, baby_

They sang this part just like the one before, but more powerful and meaning. The glee club kids and Mr. Schue were pleased to see them singing the song. The kids started to dance and jammed along through the song.

_Don't you forget about me_

_Don't, don't, don't, don't_

_Don't you forget about me_

In this part, the situation was tense. First, Starla and Carson were far apart, until they walked on the first _as you walk on by _and got closer, and they put each other's hand on each other's hips and spun around romantically. The first _as you walk on by_ part went to Carson, and Starla took the second.

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_When you walk away_

The next part was Carson's. Starla didn't sing it with him.

_Or will you walk away?_

_Will you walk on by?_

_Come on, call my name_

_Will you call my name?_

And the best part was arrived. The whole glee club got off their seats to the centre of the choir room and sang the _la la la_ part together. They danced around and sang along with joy.

_I say la la la_

Starla took Carson's hand to sing the very last part. It was saying and responding, Carson took the last lyric.

_When you walk on by_

_And you call my name_

Carson and Starla were satisfied on how the song had finally turned out. It was a crowd pleaser, clearly, and for Carson, it was one easy step to finally blend in with the school society.

"Great job, guys!" Mr. Schue slid in between the crowd to tap Carson and Starla's shoulders and congratulated them. Mr. Schue was so glad, because he finally found a new addition to the group, since no one was interested to join after the gank lost at sectionals. "And, Carson, _welcome to the glee club._" Mr. Schue put out his hand to shake Carson's hand. There was a big smile painted on Carson's face, for accomplishing one thing that he never thought he could do it—singing.

"Dude," when people started to introduce themselves to Carson and they shook hands, Blaine tapped Carson's shoulder and Carson turned around. "I'm sorry for calling you Kurt. It's just... You guys look alike," Blaine took a photograph of Kurt after he was crowned as the Prom Queen back in junior year from his pocket and gave it to Carson. Carson was surprised. They looked like twins, like the Creator carved them into two statues with similar faces and shape, except for Kurt; he loved to wear designer clothes.

Carson finally made friends with everyone. From Jake to Ryder, they made Carson get into their own hunk gank. And Brittany, she was fascinated on how Carson looked so much like Kurt and she had touched his face thrice—_and the school hadn't over yet_. Tina and Artie, who had a chance to know Kurt from the first year, were also surprised. But, Kitty was the one who had the surprising and unexpected affection on Carson.

"Hey, hot stuff," Kitty went all flirty on Carson. She touched Carson's perfectly-shaped abs and ran her finger through it, and asked "Do you have a girlfriend?" And just right after that, Starla slid in between them and grabbed Carson's arm, and said "_Over my dead body, Simcox._" Kitty crossed her arms on her chest and sniffed like there was a rotten fish right in front of her face. "Fine. Take your Danny Zuko and go to a love shack or something, I don't care. But, I'm not the type of girl who gives up after the first try. I'll be back." After finishing her Terminator impression, Kitty turned her body around and made her ruffle cheerios skirt and her super high ponytail spun around in the air and almost hit Starla on the face. As the cheerios chick faded away, Carson asked "What was that for? Not that I don't appreciate it, thank you, but why?" "It's because, Kitty is a guy magnet, and _I don't want you to get zapped into her trap._" Starla answered. Carson was relieved because of the reason Starla gave, just that—_nothing more, nothing less_. But, there was an aura on Starla's face that always sparkled and made her face always looked beautiful in Carson's eyes. Her blushy cheeks were as fresh as pomegranates and her lips were fresh red, like an apple that just fell from its tree. Every time Starla held his hand, suddenly his world was shaken stronger than the Richter scale could ever measure, and torn down into pieces right after that. He felt like all this time Starla only looked at him as a friend, although he wasn't sure after all. Especially right after _the Kitty Incident_. Starla bitch-slapped Kitty with her words saying that Kitty had to fight with Starla—fire with fire—to get Carson. He felt like Starla was okay to 'fake-date' with Carson, even if it just for dignity defense.

_Darn, what am I thinking?_

* * *

Carson sat alone in the Mucracker room. He sneaked into the place where William McKinley High School's newspaper was created. He knew the room from an afro-haired kid named Jacob Ben Israel, who happened to be one of the Mucracker editors. Although Jacob was not sure to give the key to Carson because he was afraid a mean blonde-headed cheerleader coach named Sue Sylvester— who Carson obviously had no idea on who she was— would spun Jacob's hair into sweaters for homeless hobos. He wondered if there was a person who wanted to run the paper, since the room was like an abandoned garage. Trashes everywhere, torn papers everywhere, old editions of the newspaper just spread around the room. He also found bottles of protein shake, which he was not sure why the bottles were there.

Carson wore his glasses and opened his laptop. He opened a new window to Microsoft Word program and started to type on a new worksheet. He was thrilled with excitement. He finally could do over the literally magazine that he did back in Clover and started fresh again. He also assured that this magazine would be a hit later when it was finally published. And hopefully, this magazine would be Carson's ticket to Northwestern University and he could pursue his journalistic career—_finally._ Carson already set game plans and strategy to sell the mag, and of course to make people write in the magazine. Blackmailing was on the top of Carson's list. He was so good in this dirty business, that he could find lots of preys in just a week to feed his predatory appetite. All this time, Carson didn't know how he got such an ambitious mind, but clearly it was from his father, Neal. There was no way his mother, Sheryl, inherited this mischievous behavior, since Sheryl always forced Carson to forget about his dreams because she thought there was no way Carson would make his dreams came true.

Carson got lost in his own writing. His fingers danced around the keyboard, trying to find perfect words to type on the worksheet. It was like his head was full of fireworks that were ready to explode.

"Wow, look at how many protein shake you've drunk!" Starla, who came into the room, exclaimed and almost made Carson's heart jumped out of his body. Carson lost his concentration no longer after Starla came to him and stood up next to him. Carson was sure what Starla meant was the bottles of shake on the floor. "Those aren't mine. The bottles were already there when I got here." Carson said, waving to the direction of the bottles. He kept staring at his laptop without typing anything. He was distracted by Starla's appearance in the room. "What are you doing? Don't tell me you're trying to make the literally magazine here." Starla guessed which was true. "Yup, and you can start helping me out right now." Carson took off his glasses and sat facing at Starla. "Okay, what can I do for you?" Starla shrugged. "Here," Carson gave a small empty notebook and a pen. "List all of the popular kids in this school from A-Z, or anyone that you hate in this school." Carson instructed. He made a mischievous smile, because he finally could start his _evil_ plan and hopefully it would be successful. "I thought you were going to ask me to write a story or something, but I think this works."

Starla took the notebook and the pen and started to write what Carson asked. Starla was so excited about the blackmailing process, that one page was not enough to list all the blackmail potential kids. The list was endless; it was because Starla hated the people at her school so much. Sometimes, she felt like all of her hard work didn't pay off because nobody wanted to pay attention on what she did. For instance, in glee club. When she tried to give an opinion about the weekly assignment or an opinion about what the club should do on the competition, no one wanted to hear her. And the glee club was supposed to be about togetherness, being there for each other, but it worked the opposite. No one might notice this except Starla, but Tina Cohen-Chang was getting bitchier and bitchier every day. How she acted in glee club meeting, how she bossed around and made all people looked like her experiment monkey, and Starla felt sorry for Tina's assistant for being her assistant. Starla wished the glee club was more like the glee club a year ago, before she went to McKinley. According to Artie Abrams, the club was a lot more fun. Maybe there was still boyfriend or girlfriend stealing or 'who's better in this and that' fight, but the glee club still had the 'it' factor. There was still Rachel Berry, the 'soon-to-be' Broadway star; Finn Hudson, the 'wise' leader; Quinn Fabray, the 'angel' of the club; Mercedes Jones, 'the next Aretha'; Kurt Hummel, the 'fashionista soprano'; Santana Lopez, the hot Latina who didn't afraid to cut a bitch; Mike Chang, the pop-and-lock master; and Noah 'Puck' Puckerman, the flirtatious Jew. They glued the club back then. But, now the glue had dried and the paper couldn't stick to the wall anymore. They needed more glue; more members to attach the club. That was why Mr. Schue was so happy to get Carson joining the glee club because the club needed fresher and stronger people.

After Starla finished listing all of the people, Carson took the notebook, wore his glasses, and looked at the names.

...

• Kitty Wilde

• Tina Cohen-Chang

• Sugar Motta

...

"Wait, these are the names of the glee kids," Carson opened his glasses, shocked. "How could you write their names?" Carson furrowed. "Yeah, I hate them," Starla answered him calmly, like there was no problem. "Besides, I heard they wrote their own songs for regionals two years ago and won. Maybe we could ask them to write sonatas or something." Starla raised her right eyebrow. Carson didn't say anything, he was back on the computer, typing, and said, "Great, let's do this thing tomorrow, then." He said. He looked at Starla, who was staring at him, and they shared a high-five together.

"To our literally magazine," Carson said

_"To our literally magazine."_ Starla followed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 3**

_A/N: This is the blackmailing part, so just enjoy the sneaky fun! ;)_

The next morning, the Mucracker room blackboard was full of headshots of students of McKinley High. Those students were not just students. They were popular in some ways. There were jocks, cheerleaders, leaders of clubs, and glee club members. The sick men behind this operation were standing in front of the board, smirking together, and thinking hard of which one was the easiest to blackmail.

Carson and Starla were the sick men. They finally did what they had planned before; blackmailing. When two ambitious maniacs united, _shit happened_. Carson examined photos on the first row, since the people on the first row were in the highest place on McKinley High's food chain. Starla examined the last row, which was a group of New Directions kids' photos. Starla furrowed thought hard of which one was the easiest to bring down.

"What about Jake?" Starla pointed at a picture of crew cut black man with a pair of womanizer eyes and flirtatious stare on the glee club kids row. Carson looked at Starla, she continued to explain. "I hear he's Noah Puckerman's little brother, but he never admits it," "Who's Noah Puckerman?" Carson asked. _This is getting interesting,_ Carson's thought flew out of nowhere. "Only the most bad-ass graduate at McKinley. He knocked up a girl in this school, her name is Quinn Fabray, and she is a graduate too. And, Puck's father is cheating on his mom and Jake is Puck's brother from another mom." Starla explained, as she kept staring at the board, trying to gather the information she got. "How did you know all this stuff?" Carson said, confused and impressed at the same time. Starla took her eyes off the blackboard, and gave Carson a piercing look into his bluish-greenish eyes. "I used to be in the Mucracker and I happened to be the tattletale. I hadn't published this news yet, so I kept it to myself." Starla said in her modest tone. Carson just raised his eyebrows, amazed.

During Recess, Jake was leaning on the locker, hitting on cute girls on the hallway. This time was a bodacious American-Italian brunette who wore a skirt shorter than her thigh. Jake enjoyed the rest of his time by asking questions to the girl, like _what kind of food do you like?_, or _can I have your phone number?_, _do you think I'm hot?_, and so on. As a Puckerman, he still inherited his father's womanizer attitude that was also inherited to Puck, his bro.

"Yeah, I'll call you, and wear something hot." Jake said, as the girl went away to her next cookery class. He was still leaning on the locker, fantasizing about that girl over and over, when Carson suddenly showed his head from the Spanish classroom door and cleared his throat. "Ehm," Jake looked at the man, he felt called. _Cha-ching!_ Carson pointed at Jake and he moved his index finger back and forth, gestured Jake to come into the classroom. Jake sighed, _what does he want from me?_ He resigned. And Jake followed Carson to the room.

Jake sat in front of Carson, while Carson was leaning on the teacher's table. Jake kept his hands clenched on the table. "Dude, if it's about me trying to put an alcohol on your drink, I'm sorry." Jake said, flashed back on last night, when both of them plus Sam went to a motorcycle race after Carson planned his blackmail with Starla. It was not Carson's thing, clearly, but he wanted to be friendly with his mates. "I don't want to talk about the booze fool you were trying to give me," Carson crossed his arms on his chest, and continued "I want to know more about you, _Puckerman_." Carson shot Jake right on the spot. Jake's eyes widened. He was caught and ready to be fried. Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. "How did you know?" Jake asked, furiously. "It doesn't matter how I got the news, what matter is that we know why you are such a babe magnet and I can see that from the way your father conceived your mother back then." Carson knew when it was time be sarcastic or not. _So this is how a man is set on fire from the tip of his toe feels_, Jake thought. "Don't drag my parents on this, okay?" Jake stayed cool, but if Carson pulled another father-mother word from his mouth, Jake's fist would push the word back into Carson's throat without hesitation. "Fine, if you say so," Carson walked closer to Jake. He put his hands on Jake's table and stared at Jake like he was a student who was ready to be eaten alive by his teacher. "But, I just want to let you know that the literally magazine needs more stories. So, you can submit your life story or a life tips on how to make a great pick-up line or anything you want to the magazine." Carson said, full of confident. He was already in the game, now it was time for him to kick the ball and made a goal. "Aaand, this." Carson took a yellow A4 size paper from the teacher's table and gave it to Jake. "What's this?" Jake asked. Carson grinned and said "A new agenda for your after school duty," Carson looked out the window, it was pretty much a sunny day in Lima. "It's a really nice day. Hope you enjoy yours." Carson ran to the door, avoiding any smack down between the dudes, and then threw a salute at Jake, and leave.

Jake was still sitting on his seat. He opened the sheet Carson gave him, and it said:

**YOU ARE**

**CORDIALLY**

**INVITED TO**

**ATTEND A**

**MANDATORY**

**MEETING IN THE**

**MUCRACKER**

**ROOM THIS**

**FRIDAY**

**AFTERNOON**

_This is bullshit!_ Jake thought. He never lost, but now he lost over a guy who had dirt on him. He didn't want people to know this dirt; he didn't want to be everyone's joke of the year. _Jake Puckerman; Half Black, Half Jew, Who Knew?_, or Jake Puckerman; _like Big Bro, like Lil Bro_—just two of many headlines that Jake could think of if the whole school knew about his Puckerman relation and they decided to make this news into a big headline on the school paper. He knew the date, he knew the time and place. Jake squeezed the paper into a tiny ball and tossed it into the dumpster, as he made his way through the exit.

Carson walked through an empty hallway. He was late for his history class, and today was the first time he attended the class—_not a great first impression_. He strapped his satchel bag on his shoulder and walked faster. The class was on the dead end of the hallway and Carson had to reach the classroom before a teacher noticed him still on the hallway. The teacher would probably give him detention, Carson's first detention at McKinley.

When Carson reached the janitor room, suddenly he heard weird sounds came out from the room. It sounded just like a girl moaning in the janitor room. Carson bent down and stuck his right ear to the door, trying to hear the sound clearly.

"Hehehe, stop it!" There was a giggle came out from the janitor, but it was different. The voice was more childish and high pitched. Only one thing came across Carson's mind; two chicks were making out inside the room. He could hear the sound of heavy breath of two girls; somehow it turned him on a bit.

"Argh," as the girls reached their orgasm, Carson stuck his ear deeper to the door. He wanted to barge into the room, but he didn't want to ruin the sensation both girls got. Carson smirked; _this might be my next victim_.

Carson could hear both girls put their clothes on. While they were wearing their clothes, a small post-sex chat started.

"How do you feel?" Girl number 1 asked.

"I feel like such a bad girl," Girl number 2 answered, pretending to whine like a little girl.

Both girls giggled.

"_Brittany_, I'm really sorry you didn't graduate." Girl number 2 continued.

"Well, if I graduated, I wouldn't meet you." Said Girl number 1.

Carson stood up straight again. _Brittany? Don't tell me..._, Carson's first guess was Brittany S. Pierce. He heard Starla's story that Brittany was in a long distance relationship with her girlfriend, Santana Lopez. While Santana was at Louisville, Brittany was stuck in Lima. Being in a long distance relationship was hard, but you didn't have to cheat to satisfy your need.

A moment after that, the door was unlocked and the girls were out. Yup, Carson's guess was right. It was Brittany with a sophomore cheerio, none other than Kitty Wilde. _Kitty-Wilde?_, Carson's mind scribbled. Carson was standing in front of the door. He made quite an appearance. He almost made Brittany and Kitty having a heart attack. "Ladies," Carson walked forward and had the ladies walked back to the janitor room.

Carson, Brittany, and Kitty were in the janitor room. Carson locked the door and turned on the light switch on the wall. He leaned on the door and crossed his arms—_his signature_. Brittany and Kitty crossed their arms and stared at him in a daring look. "Girls, it must be a pleasure to skip class and secretly have a heavy petting session here. But let me tell you, Brittany, don't you have a girlfriend?" Carson moved forward to Brittany. He interrogated Brittany like a detective who interrogated a world class terrorist. Brittany didn't answer. "And, what if Santana knew about this? What would you do?" Carson shot another question that made Brittany really uncomfortable at the moment. "It doesn't matter if her girlfriend knows about this or not, what matter is why you're here? Is not your business!" Kitty stormed Carson and Brittany, which made Carson concentrated on the not-so-straight cheerleader. "And, why are you here, missy? Aren't you... Straight?" Carson raised his eyebrow. Kitty rolled her eyes and licked her red lips. "Tell me, since when did you change your sexual partner? It's really fast since you asked me out after my glee club audition." Carson continued. Kitty lost her word. She didn't have a choice but to tell the truth. "IT'S JUST A PHASE, KAY?!" Kitty screamed the truth. Kitty couldn't take the pressure, the pressure Carson gave. "After me and Jake broke up, I—I sort of lost of direction. So, I went to Brittany. Brittany's a sweet girl, she makes me comfortable. If you want a person to blame, blame me." Kitty explained everything. All of them went silent. It was supposed to be the time for Carson to feel sorry for Brittany and Kitty, but 'sorry' was not in his dictionary. And then, Carson went to Brittany to ask for the answer he threw at first. "I was lonely and didn't know what to do, and then there was Kitty." Brittany told him. Carson glared at Brittany for a second, and then he started to make a proposition. "Well, you guys don't want this whole lesbian relationship go public, right? So, I want you guys to submit your literature works to the new literally magazine and we can forget all this thing like it never happens." Brittany and Kitty threw glances at each other. "What's in it for us?" Kitty asked. "Well, I'll keep your secret safe and sealed." Carson mimed a zipper on his mouth and locked it. "But, I don't know how to write." Brittany said innocently. Carson glanced at her viciously. His patient had cut off; he didn't want to argue anymore.

Carson shoved his pocket and gave the girls two pieces of yellow paper, just like what he gave to Jake. Before the girls opened the papers, Carson said "Just consider my offer, okay?" And then, he stormed out the janitor room to the class where he should be. Brittany and Kitty opened the paper; it was just like what Carson gave to Jake. It was an invitation to a mega meeting of people with dirt on them. Both of the girls sighed in desperation and perspiration after the heavy make out session.

* * *

Starla went to the girls' bathroom to touch up her makeup.

_But I see your true colors_

_Shining through_

_I see your true colors_

_And that's why I love you_

_So don't be afraid to let them show_

_Your true colors_—

On her way to the sink, she stopped singing when she heard a sound of girl vomiting behind the toilet door. Starla's hearing got stronger, she reached the door and put her left ear to the door and heard the noise once again. Starla wanted to knock on the door, but she was afraid she might frighten the gal.

After she waited for several moments, Starla—who changed her mind not to apply her makeup—knocked on the door. No longer after she knocked the door, the girl opened the door. She was Marley Rose, one of her friends in glee club. She was the nicest girl in the club, so Starla didn't hate on her. "Girl," Starla called. "What's up with the throw up?" She asked. Marley, who froze in front of the door, wiped her mouth and answered "I—" she couldn't say anything. She was too shocked to find Starla was standing by the door when she puked. Starla, with her 1000 watts smile, circled around her arm on Marley's shoulder and took her next to the sink.

Marley freshened up her mouth. She gargled and wiped the water from her mouth with a tissue. Starla kept staring at Marley until she finished cleaning up. Starla crossed her arms, and asked "Marley, are you having a bun in the oven?" Marley's eyes widened, she quickly said no. "No way! I—I was just—" Marley couldn't come up with the right word to explain her situation. "Please don't tell anyone about this," Marley grabbed Starla's arms and asked her to make a pact.

_This might be a hot victim for the Operation McKinleygate_, Starla thought. Suddenly, she remembered about her blackmail mission with Carson. Starla raised her eyebrow and smirked, because she just got one legit target.

"I can't promise you anything, sister. Tell me what it is." Starla said, smiling mischievously.

Marley sighed. She used her both hands to rub the back of her neck, and she started to explain. "Do you ever feel insecure of your body because you keep gaining weight and can't stop?" Marley opened with a question. "No. I always love my body the way it is." Starla didn't help much. Marley sighed, and said "It's because you have one hot bod, and me? Have you seen my mother?" She referred to her mother, Mrs. Rose, who happened to be the lunch lady of the school. Students kept making fun of Marley's mom because of her extraordinary body size. Starla nodded. "She is _fat_, she really is. And I don't want to be like her. I love her, but I love my body too. So, I try to throw all my lunch out of my body every day. I guess suddenly it turns into a weird addiction." Marley grinned. Starla held Marley's arm and asked "since when did this happen?"

"Since Grease, my costume kept shrinking and shrinking and I couldn't fit in. It was Kitty's idea to stick my finger into my throat and throw up. That way I could fit into my costume and be the perfect Sandy," _That bitch_, Starla grossed out every time she heard the name Kitty. "But, the worst was sectionals. I didn't know losing weight had to deal with big problems, like lost in competition, and had people blaming me for the lost." Marley continued. She regretted so much. She wished she could turn back time and fix everything. _That's why she fainted in the end of the song_, Starla finally figured out the missing puzzle. "Hey, don't blame on yourself. I understand, I'm sure they understand too. _And, screw beauty. You have your own way to shine. You're pretty in your own way. Just let out your inner beauty._" Starla comforted Marley. Marley felt so much better after that. "Thank you, but don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Marley said. "I won't tell to anyone, as long as you submit your work to the literally magazine." Starla promoted the literally magazine to Marley. Marley furrowed, she was confused. "Wait, I don't understand. Literally magazine? I have to submit a work? If not, you'll tell my secret to the whole school?" Marley asked. Starla stood up straight and tidied her vintage floral black top and her denim vest. "Yup, pretty much." Starla answered shortly. Marley walked closer to Starla, trying to find an answer. "Why are you doing this?" Marley asked. "I'm just helping a friend, that's all." Starla answered. Marley sighed, after all she had to follow Starla, or else she would be busted. Starla shoved her pocket and gave a copy of the yellow invitation to Marley. "Is it because of your _boyfriend_?" Marley referred to Carson. Suddenly, Starla turned into a not-so-friendly self and answered "He's not my boyfriend; _I wish he was_, but yes." No longer after that, Marley decided to go outside the bathroom, leaving Starla alone. Marley tapped Starla on the shoulder and walked to the door. Before she faded away into the crowd, Marley turned around and said her closing word before her big exit. "I'll give the story to you soon. Don't worry." She smiled, and left. Starla had been an asshole to Marley, but Marley was still kind to Starla.

* * *

The following day had been a rough one for Carson. Mostly because of he still couldn't adapt with his new environment and he only had a little cash left. He lived alone, no parents, no child support. He only stood for himself. He had to deal with what he had done.

Carson stepped into the school. By the entrance, he was greeted by Blaine Anderson. "Hi! What's up?" Carson said, shared a high five, but it was missed because Blaine was concentrating on his phone. "Not much, just chatting with a hot stuff." Blaine said, with his flirtatious glance. Carson took a peek at Blaine's phone screen. There was a big online conversation bubble on Blaine's phone.

_"'S up, hot stuff?"_ Blaine started first.

_"Not much, kinda boring. I wish you were here with me ;)"_ Blaine's 'hot stuff' replied.

_"Oh really? What are you doing?"_

_"Touching myself and thinking about you ;)"_

_"Hot."_

And the conversation paused. "Eli C, someone special?" Carson looked at the sender's name and asked, almost shouted. And just after that, Blaine realized that all this time Carson read his conversation. He quickly closed his phone and answered "Hmm, not really, actually." Blaine lied. He hid his lie with his smile, but he couldn't cover his eyes and sweat from the lie. _Isn't Blaine with that guy, Kurt?_ Hmm, Carson's mind flew with vicious thoughts. Before the bell rang in a minute, Carson tapped Blaine's shoulder and said, "You know what, bro? Sometimes, you can't hide from the truth. See you in class." Carson ran to his locker and blended into the crowd. He left Blaine alone, with his own confusion. _What was that?_, Blaine shook his head and headed to the class.

_Next class: ICT_

Carson examined the time table inside his locker. Suddenly, an idea struck Carson's head. _A-ha!_ Suddenly, he remembered the time when he blackmailed Remy, one of the yearbook committees. He pretended to be a horny stranger and used the username "BadBoy2012" to chat with her. It went well, until she sent a picture of her, half-naked, showing her boobs that made Carson traumatized for the rest of his life.

_You're BadBoy2012?_

_I can't even look at you anymore, not that it was easy before._

Carson remembered what happened like it was just yesterday. And the best thing was Blaine was in the same class with Carson in ICT. _Maybe if I used my account to chat with Blaine, that way I could threat him to tell his affair to Kurt and he could submit a work to my on-progress literally magazine,_ Carson's river of ideas flew smoothly. There was a strict policy on using the school computer for other uses than studying, but Carson didn't care. Fingers crossed for this plan to work as Carson wished.

Carson slammed his locker door and ran to the class. He had to take the back seat in class, because that way the teacher wouldn't notice him chatting. He put his bag and opened the computer. While waiting for the computer to be ready, Carson saw Blaine was two rows in front of him and one row to the left. _Perfect, that way he won't notice me_, Carson thought. And the perfect thing was, Blaine also opened his computer and went to the online chatting site Carson used to fool Remy. BadBoy2012 was ready to catch a prey. It was easy to find Blaine's account, because Carson saw Blaine's username when he chatted with Eli C. Carson immediately sent Blaine a chat request.

_BadBoy2012 sent you a chat request._

_Accept _|_ Decline_

Without hesitation, Blaine clicked the ACCEPT option. After all, he was bored and wouldn't listen to what his teacher would say, and he needed a companion.

_Hey, sexy. You got a nice abs right there on your icon ;), _Carson started the conversation. Carson was distracted by Blaine's icon, which was a picture of Blaine's bare torso. Carson wanted to throw up, but he had to hold it.

Carson couldn't see what kind of facial expression Blaine was making when he type his response on the computer, but he was sure Blaine was uber flattered by the way Carson complimented his abs.

_Wanna take a closer look?_, Blaine replied. He was happy when someone said something good about his body.

_Yup, yup ;)_

Blaine looked around if anyone was reading his conversation.

_Ok_

About 30 seconds after Blaine's answer, he sent a picture to BadBoy2012. Carson was surprised because suddenly there was a bubble with a picture. _Man, this man is serious about this._ Carson opened the picture, and a photograph of a reflection of Blaine on the mirror, who wore nothing but a hand covering his junk, popped out on his computer screen. Carson almost fell backwards from his seat. He had never seen another male naked in his life. This must be how an innocent kid felt when he saw porn for the first time.

Carson quickly closed the picture. This had to end before Blaine sent another horrifying picture to Carson.

_You make me really wet._

_Wanna video chat? ;)_, Carson continued.

_Idk, I'm in the middle of something :(_, Blaine replied.

_What? In the middle of touching yourself because of my hotness? Just once, k._

Carson already sent a video chat request to Blaine before he could say no. Blaine wanted to decline the request, but he didn't want to upset BadBoy2012. So, he clicked on the "Accept" button. The computer screen went black until a figure of man in a blue plaid shirt who was waving at Blaine popped out. He was none other than Carson Phillips. _Thank God for the video camera on this computer_, Carson thought. Blaine's face was priceless. It was red with shame, closed with his palm, he wished this never happened. On the chat bubble, Carson wrote _Meet me outside at lunch, pervert_ and ended the chat. The screen blacked out again, Blaine's mind suddenly went blue.

Just like what Carson told him, Blaine went to the school's courtyard and met Carson. Carson was sitting on one of the empty table, alone. He couldn't wait until he made Blaine peeing in his pants and telling the truth afterwards. Blaine took a seat, and after several moments of silence, Blaine asked a question. "You're BadBoy2012?" Blaine's face was red and his voice was very low with shame. He didn't want to stare directly at Carson and Carson didn't want to stare at Blaine either. _I can't even look at you anymore, not that it was easy before_, that memory flashed in Carson's mind again. Carson took a deep breath and answered, "I know nothing about hormone production and how kids these days are going wild because of it," Carson sounded just like his principal back in Clover. He was wise, but his words were not similar to the whole reality. Every time his principal gave a speech, Carson wanted to throw the A bomb right at him. "But, I'm traumatized. I clearly am." Carson shook his head depressingly. Blaine didn't respond his mate; instead he kept shutting his mouth until Carson dropped another word on him. "Why are you doing this?" Carson asked, he felt concerned about his friend's situation, but clearly he just wanted to dig more information from Blaine. "I... I'm bored, okay? And lonely. At first, I didn't know I would end up lonely without my boyfriend, I-I-I have my needs, okay?" Blaine stuttered. He couldn't come up with the right words to answer Carson. Carson licked his bottom lips, and asked again, "And what are your needs, exactly?" Blaine rolled his eyes. _God, I should've run away from here_, Blaine's mind scrambled. Blaine took a deep breath and said, "You know, guys needs." It was a short answer that Carson had expected.

Carson didn't want to discuss much longer with Blaine, so he just got down to the business. "What if I told your boyfriend, Kurt, about this? I'm sure he'll be very upset and doesn't want to see you ever again." Carson smirked. Blaine's sweat drained faster. He didn't want anyone to find out about him cheating on the love of his life. "Please, Carson, do not tell anyone about this." Blaine begged with his puppy dog face. Carson loved when someone begged on him for mercy. He also loved when someone mesmerized his hard work. Carson just loved to be on top of anything in this world. "Well, I can't guarantee that. But, if you submit a story or poetry or anything to the literally magazine, I can guarantee your secret is safe with me. I'm good at keeping my mouth shut." _Not really_. Carson showed Blaine his convincing 1000 watts smile. Blaine had no choice. He had to write, or else his cheating secret would spread around the school, or even worse, _it would spread around New York and Kurt would find out about it_.

"Fine, as long as you won't tell anyone about anything." Blaine said. Carson's battle was finally over and his rival had gone down and knocked out. _7, 8, 9, 10, he won_. "Great, I'll see you later." Carson got up from his seat, opened his satchel bag and gave Blaine the yellow invitation, and left.

Carson's blackmail operation was finally finished. It went well, until the very last victim. There was one thing left to do for him—begging for the principal's permission to launch the literally magazine. He was too excited to blackmail the popular kids; he forgot to ask Principal Figgins' permission to publish the magazine. So, Carson rushed to Principal Figgins office right after his meeting with Blaine.

The principal's office seemed to have a company. Carson caught a glimpse of a woman inside the principal office. He stopped himself from opening the door and took a closer peek at the office on the glass window. The principal office was far deep inside the door. Before the office, there was a secretary desk for Mrs. Goodrich. She always looked at the students who came to the office cynically. Being a secretary was not the job she ever wanted in her life. She wanted to be with her late husband, get out of Lima, and travel around the world. But, jobs in Lima were very hard to find, even though all the people had one same wish; they wished they could get out of Lima and leave the city forever.

Carson stood by the entrance. He tried to recognize the woman in a pink hat, a fur coat and leopard tights. He stuck his ear on the door and eavesdropped on Principal Figgins' conversation with her.

"All I want is my personal lunch table in the cafeteria with my name curved on the table made of number one mahogany in the world. And also, I want the teachers to gain my grades for 10%." _This chick is a snob_, Carson grossed out by the way the woman released her tantrum.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Motta, but we can't afford an expensive mahogany table for you and gaining a student's grade is completely a violation of school rules and ethics." The rich Indian accent in Principal Figgins' voice was clearly heard by Carson. Suddenly, a big bulb popped inside Carson's mind.

_Ms. Motta?_

_Could it be?_

"Don't you know who I am? I'm _Su-gar-Mo-tta_. Sugalicious, loco Motta! I don't know what's wrong with this school, seriously!" Bingo! It was Sugar all this time. _Whew, just because that kid's dad donates pianos for glee club_, _that doesn't mean she can do anything she wants_. _On the other hand, this conversation is getting interesting. I can't just barge in and make a grand entrance and ruin everything,_ Carson thought. He decided to stay outside until Sugar came out.

"I'm sorry, Sugar, but no can't do." Principal Figgins refused.

Carson could see Sugar's forehead furrowed, it almost made her look like a thirty years old lady ranting out because of her bills. "Well, if this will make you grant my wish," Sugar threw a sly smirk and opened her bright red Prada tote bag to take her expensive purse. She unzipped her purse and took three a hundred dollars bills and trusted the cash to Principal Figgins. "I'm sorry, Miss, but YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND!" Figgins' face is scarier than Carson's dad when he wanted to slap his mom back when Carson was twelve. Carson just couldn't get rid of that picture from his mind. He was still traumatized by the huge fight between his parents that made his dad ran way, left Carson and his mom alone. All Carson wanted to do was entering the story world he made his own. He wanted to get away from the reality, the bitter reality that he had to face alone.

"No one will know. Besides, I think you need a new suit and you can buy it with this cha-ching." Sugar fanned herself with the bucks. Figgins still refused, until he looked around and checked on the possibility of students or teacher and faculty staffs watching him. Carson had to duck, so Figgins couldn't notice his present, and after the situation was clear Carson got back to his first position. The next thing Carson witnessed, Figgins took the money and shoved it into his pocket. Carson opened his mouth wide, he was in shock. _A bribe?_, Carson shook his head. Suddenly, Carson's devilish clever mind turned upside down. _If I could threat Figgins to expose his bribe, maybe he would give me a permission to run the literally magazine._

No longer after the heinous event, Sugar walked outside Figgins' office. She met Carson by the door, she was busted. Carson, who was ready with his yellow slip on the hand, gave the paper to Sugar. "I saw what you were doing inside. If you don't want to get busted, just follow what this paper says." Carson didn't forget to put his satisfied smirk on his face. "I..." Sugar couldn't say a word. Before she could say anything, Sugar took the paper and Carson just shooed the girl away. She followed which way Carson's hand waved.

_It's time for the main event,_ Carson walked into the principal's office. He didn't care on Mrs. Goodrich on the secretary table who was clipping her nails; he just walked on right to the direction where he was going. "Good afternoon, Principal Figgins." Carson greeted Figgins warmly. "Good afternoon, Mr. Phillips. You look very happy today." Principal Figgins put a joyous smile on his face. Carson pulled a chair that faced to Figgins and sat on it. "I'm sure I am today," Carson clenched his both hands on the table; _it was time for some serious business._ "But, you must be happier than me since that Sugar kid just shut your mouth with some dough." Carson's words made Figgins' body stiff and shamed. "I don't know what you're talking about." Figgins denied it. _I knew he would deny it_, Carson rolled his eyes and threw his back to the rest. "Principal Figgins, with all due respect, I saw what you and Sugar did here. I eavesdropped and saw with my own eyes, and I'm pretty sure my eyes are still functioned well." Carson said. Figgins couldn't come up with another defensive word. He was caught; there was no way he could deny it anymore.

Principal Figgins gulped his own guilt. "What do you want, Mr. Phillips?" Figgins couldn't stare at Carson's eyes because he had tarnished his pride with something that he did by himself. Carson cleared his throat and started the negotiation. "Principal Figgins, I'm planning on publishing a literally magazine here in McKinley High. It is a magazine filled with students' writings. They can write poems, stories, anything. I've got the writers, I've got the fund, I've got everything except your permission. So, I was hoping you could agree to this project. Unless if you want your bribery scandal goes out and spreads around in public." Carson raised his left eyebrow and crossed his arms on his chest, objectifying Figgins' reaction. Principal Figgins sighed, there was no way he could say no to that agreement. If everyone found out about the bribe, he would be slaughtered alive. "Fine, you can publish a literally magazine here, in McKinley," Principal Figgins said resignedly. He held out his head towards Carson and pointed his index finger dramatically, and continued "But if you still try to expose me in public, I will not hesitate to expel you from this school." Carson held his promise firmly. "I won't, sir." Carson smiled sincerely. Put out his hand towards Figgins and they shook hands. Then, Carson exited the principal's office and faded away to the crowded school hallway.

**Please review and tell me what you think :)**


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I'm sorry for being not interactive in my notes, but I'm trying to :) Just tell me what do you think about the story and the errors and I'll try to fix them. And please follow my twitter_ ** Christopaulfer **_and my tumblr _** .com** _if you want to know more about me :)_

_enjoy! :)_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 4**

School had come to an end this Friday. Students picked their bags and poured out of the classroom simultaneously. Some went straight to home, some clustered and headed to one of their houses to party, and some had to deal with after-school activities.

Friday usually became the most stressful day in Carson's life. He had to write articles and stories for Clover High Chronicle all alone, since no one in the magazine editor group wanted to help him. Malerie, his best friend, wanted to help, but every time she gave Carson her piece of writing, she turned out copying someone else's work. Carson usually sat in the editors' room, accompanied only by his laptop and glasses, and wrote all his heart out for the newspaper. He kept the room low light, so no one would bother him from his sacred shrine. He usually spent hours and hours until it went dusk just to get the newspaper done by tomorrow and publish it on Monday. He was depressed, clearly, once his fellow editor, Vicki Jordan asked him "Why do you care so much?" And that was the question Carson had been questioning himself for days. _Why do you care so much?_, Carson needed to get to the school where he wanted. He wanted Northwestern, not community college. He didn't want to end up like his mom nor other misfits in Clover. He needed to be bigger than anyone else; he needed to make his dreams come true. He didn't want to end up like a high school cliché, in which his popular schoolmates would end up. He had the power to take over the world with his words and writings. _He wanted to make the boy who wanted to fly finally could soar in the sky_.

But the Friday he spent for the first time in McKinley was different than any Friday he could imagine. Carson had a will to blackmail his newly found friends just to get them to write in his literally magazine. He couldn't wait to zap them with nasty words just to make them follow his order. Carson waited for everyone who got the yellow invitation to come to the mucracker room, just like what he had written in the paper. Carson, wearing his usual blue sky hoodie, sat on the table he used to type when Starla suddenly barge into the room, with his split chin rested on the table. He kept looking at the watch he was wearing, ticking the tock on his clock. 3:00 pm in the afternoon, and still there was no sign of living that came to the room. _Well, I guess my plan doesn't work, jokes on me believing that this is Clovergate all over again,_ Carson lost his hope.

3:15 pm came close and still no one stopped by the mucracker room. Carson thought it would be better for him to go home, write his own mag, put all his old writings inside it, and falsify the authors' names. Carson got up from his bed and strapped his satchel bag over his shoulder. He sighed; _maybe this is the end of my adventure_. When he wanted to move his feet and walked the way out of the room, suddenly he saw a group of people was entering the room. The clothes they were wearing were dominated by red, white, and the school spirit. "I had to force them to come here, they wanted to run away but I stopped them. _Tada!_" The only person who was wearing a floral black dress and a matching headband in the middle of jocks and cheerios group was Starla. She helped Carson to gather all the victims and forced them to come. Carson smiled in satisfactory after knowing that his plan worked the second time. As the jocks and cheers took their seats on the front row, a group of glee club kids followed them behind. Their faces were in grief, knowing that there was a possibility that Carson would eat them alive. There were Jake, Kitty, Brittany, Marley, and Blaine. Others were safe. Most of the jocks' dirts were about using steroids or cheating on their girlfriends, on the other hand the cheerleaders' dirts were about weight lose drugs using or girl-on-girl relationship.

As the kids found their own seats and some of them sat on top of tables, Starla and Carson still stood by the door. "Thank you." Carson thanked Starla. "You're welcome," Starla tapped on Carson's shoulder "I admire you, Carson. Do not stop on making your dreams come true. And when you need a help, I will always be with you." Starla tried to comfort Carson. She saw him wanting to go home, she thought he would give up. She didn't want him to give up in any way. Carson just smiled after hearing what Starla said. As she swang away to approach the crowd, Carson mouthed "Thank you" at Starla.

The kids were on their places, it was time for setting up the game plan. Starla recorded the meeting with her handycam, in case if anyone was trying to avoid the deal. _The video would spoke for itself._ "Okay, folks, just let's get this over with." Carson opened their meeting. He could see the kids' faces were sullen, since nobody wanted to be here. "As you know, I got dirt on you guys. If you don't want that dirt to come up to the surface, you have to submit writing to the literally magazine," Carson pointed at those kids one by one and continued "Each of you, no exception." Just like what Carson had expected, all of the kids' faces were as grumpy as one of the seven dwarfs in the Snow White tale. "Oh Kay... On behalf of this group of students, I think we all disagree on that. I mean, COME ON! We have a lot of things to do; school, exams, practice, competition. We don't have time for your stupid magazine." Kitty said, peeved. On Carson's mind, Kitty looked like Claire but taller and blonde. He knew the right way to handle her. "THIS MAGAZINE IS NOT STUPID OKAY THIS MAGAZINE IS MY—" before Carson scattered around papers and smashed chairs, Principal Figgins stepped inside the Mucracker room silently. Everybody threw their glances at Figgins, as he tiptoed his Bally shoes to the room. Principal Figgins sat on a chair next to Sugar on the very back row. The kids thought Figgins were just examining the meeting, but clearly he was one of the victims. Regardless of Figgins' existence, Carson kept himself calm and continued.

"I want you guys to submit ONE writing only. Whatever you want, okay? You can write your life story, you can write how much you want to get out of this school, you can write how much you really want to peel my skin and slice my flesh right now, ANYTHING!" Turned out, Carson couldn't stay calm for one minute. Carson paused and panted simultaneously.

Blaine raised his hand tentatively. He tried to avoid angry Carson and turned him into a bull mad Carson. "When is the deadline?" Carson glanced at Blaine and said, still panting, "Monday. You can all give y'all writings on Monday." The kids nodded simultaneously. "And for you, sir," Carson approached Principal Figgins and stood an inch away from Figgins' skin. "I don't want anything from you. I just want you to allow me to do a speech in front of the school, to introduce the magazine to public. That's it." "Fffine. Monday noon at lunch. You can use the gym, but I won't provide the fund for you, Mr. Phillips." Figgins stuttered, like he just saw a ghost coming to get him. "I'll manage the fund myself. Thank you, sir." Carson gave Figgins a pleasing smile and got back to his place.

"I think we're clear here." Carson ended the meeting. Starla, who was still recording the whole thing, pushed the stop button and close the LCD screen on the handy cam. "And this, my friend," she shook her handy cam "will fight you later if you try to avoid the deal." She painted a vicious smile, as if she was a detective who talked to the suspect of a crime. "NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY CLASSROOM!" Carson evicted all the kids ferociously, like a very mean teacher who shooed a bunch of lousy pupils. The kids stormed out of the mucracker room, with the threatened Principal Figgins walking on the back.

"Guess we did it, partner." Carson turned around and shared a satisfying high five with Starla. "I so agree with you on this, partner." Starla replied.

_"Mr. Phillips?"_ A mean looking, broad shoulder, furrowed forehead, puckered lips woman in a tomato red tracksuit stood by the front door and stared at Carson sternly. It was none other than the infamous Sue Sylvester, the legendary cheerleading coach in William McKinley High School. She was well known for her fierce, ambitious and cunning traits. No one was brave enough to look at her in the eyes, because her eyes were always flamed with anger and hatred. She could eat people alive with her vicious words. She was one of the famous people in Lima, Ohio, for her segment called "Sue's Corner" on the news. _And that's how Sue Cs it_, the tagline that suddenly became a trademark for her. Every time Sue called someone all by herself, that meant she was going to get down in a very serious business with that person. _And Carson was the person._

Carson, who was standing still next to Starla, was confused and scared. He was called to face the meanest people alive. He gulped and walked towards Sue, like he was about to become an inscription. Sue slanted her eyes, staring at Carson like a disgraceful creature. Carson widened his eyes; he was ready to get shot with many questions.

"Young man, you have no right to enter this room." Sue broke the tense between the two. "Well, I'm sure I have the right to enter this room, since this is the only room with a complete collection of magazine printing equipment, which is perfectly fit for my future _literally magazine_." Carson was so brave to talk to Sue like that. He wasn't afraid to be bitten alive, instead he stood on the top of the hill and provoked Sue to run after him. "Who gave the key to you?" Sue asked again. "Jacob Ben Israel." Carson answered shortly, daring. Sue sniffed and looked on the other side of the room, capturing a flash of memory from her mind. "That little Jewish cloud. I bet his hair is ten times bigger than his brain size," _Offensive_. Carson also looked to the way Sue was glancing; he thought she saw a dead bird or something. "Well, I'll tell you what, my friend. You don't have a permission to run a school magazine here. The only magazine that allows to be published here is _Mucracker and Mucracker only_." Sue emphasized on the word 'Mucracker only', as if it was a strict warning._ Whew, she is a mean woman_, Carson thought. He crossed his arms on his chest, bit his inner mouth wall, and stomped on his feet to burn some courage. "Well, Ms. Sylvester, I've talked to Principal Figgins about this and he agreed." Carson said. A moment later, Principal Figgins walked behind Sue and cut their conversation by saying, "Sue, just follow what he asks you," and then he stuck his right hand on his right cheek and mouthed, _"He is a demon just like you."_, but Carson knew. Carson raised his left eyebrow as the principal left and shouted, "Nice meeting you, sir!" Sarcastically.

Carson gritted his teeth and said, "Well, Ms. Sylvester, you've heard yourself. If you'll excuse me," Carson walked away from his conversation, but he couldn't make it because Sue stopped him before his first step. "Not so fast, young man," Sue grasped Carson's right arm so he wouldn't run away. "Nobody talks to Sue Sylvester like that. You've been a very impolite person and I need you to be punished for your deeds." Carson sighed. This was the price that he got when he dared a lion to fight with him. "I'm sorry, Ms. Sylvester, but I don't think I've done something wrong. Maybe what you call "bad deeds"," Carson gestured two quotations marks with his hands "... Is called "brutal honesty". You know, I can't just go around with people and say 'wow, you look great', or 'oh, have you lost weight?' When they clearly look like shit and fat." Carson started to sound like Sue, which made her so proud and happy. _Maybe he could be one of my minions_, Sue said to herself. "Gentleman," Sue put her right palm on Carson's shoulder and said, "I think your word speaks for yourself. And I so agree with you, you can't tell a lie when telling the truth is much better. And, come to my office sometimes. I think we can, you know, talk for a while." Sue painted a creepy smile on her face, which gave Carson a creep. _Why did she suddenly turn into a very generous woman?_ Carson's mind puzzled. Sue went away, as Carson replied "that'd be lovely, Mam." And Sue faded away with her cruelty. _Gosh, that was awkward,_ Carson went back inside the room since there was Starla, still waiting for him in the classroom.

Starla was cleaning her handy cam lens with a microfiber cloth when Carson went back inside. After she finished with her cleaning and put the handy cam back to its bag, Starla asked, "Are you hungry? There's a restaurant nearby." Carson rubbed his rumbling belly and answered, "I'm starving! Yeah, let's go there." Starla strapped her handy cam bag and her backpack. On the other hand, Carson already had his bag strapped on his shoulder. Carson asked, _"Well, is it a date?"_ Carson captured Starla's cast in the eyes, she was looking forward to their lunch date. She hadn't answered Carson's question and she just went straight to the door. When she reached the threshold, she replied "We'll see later." And winked at him seductively. Carson fell for that flirt. His legs turned to jelly once she gave him the wink. He followed Starla, because he didn't know where the restaurant took place.

* * *

Since Starla used the school bus on her way to school, she didn't drive her red VW 1303 Cabriolet. It was because her parents took her car key after she ran away from her house and went to Kitty Wilde's wild house party and she was home at 4 AM, drunk. And in that moment, she swore she would never drink ever again. "Do you have a ride?" Starla asked Carson, as they exited the school and passed the parking lot. "I do. It's right here." Carson pointed at his car, the one that he used when he ran away from Clover and ended up in Lima. "Nice ride." Starla said, complimenting. Starla always loved rooftop and vintage cars, and Carson's car was on the top of her favorites. When Starla was about to open the car door, Carson ran to her and opened the door for her. _What a gentleman,_ Starla was impressed by how Carson treated a lady well. For a guy who never had a girlfriend, he was pretty good. Carson jumped into the car after he opened the door for Starla. He turned the car key, started the engine, and they drove away to the direction Starla gave to him.

They finally arrived at Breadstix, a restaurant where pastas and stick-shaped breads were sold here. It was the only fancy restaurant near the school and most students went there on Friday night. Carson and Starla loosened up their seat belts. And just like when they were about to leave, Carson jumped out of the car and directly opened the door for Starla. "Thank you." Starla mouthed and smiled.

"Shall we?" Carson put out his left arm to Starla. Starla giggled, _this guy is really serious about this lunch date._ After that, she held Carson's arm tightly and they both entered the restaurant.

They didn't wear fancy dresses like people on usual date; instead they were wearing their casual outfits. Starla could imagine Carson wearing a nice tuxedo with a seductive red tie and Carson could imagine Starla wearing a red cocktail dress and her hair was perfectly curled. As soon as they entered Breadstix, a grey-haired woman in a plain white shirt and a mid black pencil skirt opened the door for them and greeted them with a warm smile. "Welcome to Breadstix, I bet this is your first time coming to this restaurant, huh?" The lady teased Carson. He just smiled and said, "Yes, could you recommend the best seat and best food for us?" "Oh, sure. Table for two, this way," the waitress directed them to a mahogany table for two people with a pot of fresh roses on the middle. _Wow, this table is romantically prepared,_ Carson and Starla exchanged their glances. The woman, who was hidden behind the bodies of Carson and Starla, walked to their chairs to pull them and asked them to sit down. Then, the woman put napkins on both thighs, in case if they ate inappropriately and their food didn't enter their mouths and fell into their thighs. They woman gave them two menu books and recommended, "Today's specials are bolognese spaghetti and cookies n' cream cheesecake." Definitely my favorites, both Carson and Starla thought of the same thing.

_"I'll have that," _Carson and Starla said in unison. "Whoa, we're thinking the same thing?" Carson shocked. "'Guess we are." Starla replied. She was surprised, but she knew where this was going. Starla tried to hide her blush by flipping the pages in the menu book one by one without looking at Carson, not even a glance. Carson kidded Starla by helding out his head an inch away from Starla's menu book and looked at her. He frightened Starla, like she just saw a scary demon showing up right in front of her. But then, she knew it was Carson, so she just laughed and punched Carson on his arm. "2 bolognese spaghettis and 2 cheesecakes coming right up." The woman took the menu books, smiled warmly, and left the two lovebirds alone.

The date was kind of awkward, because it was their first time and they barely didn't know how to act on the first date. "So...," Carson opened their conversation shyly. He clenched his hands on the table and grinned. "I have no idea what are we supposed to do on the first date." "Me either," Starla rolled her eyes and sighed. "But, we could talk about our things, like usual things. Our interests? Favorites? School, pfft~" Starla pouted. She had no interest in talking about school on their date. "Or, maybe our feeling?" Carson smirked and raised his eyebrow. Starla's body trembled right after Carson said the word _feeling_. "Geez, not so fast," Starla gestured the 'talk to my hand' move on Carson, refused. _She was shy because they had the same food order and she had to talk about her feeling?_ Starla's had butterflies in her tummy. Carson was amused by how Starla reacted. He had his shame nerve cut a long time ago, so he had no problem in talking about his feeling. "Hmm..." Starla bit her lips "Fine, let's start with you. How do you feel about me?" Starla pointed at Carson. She wasn't ready to talk about her feeling. She was not the kind of girl who said 'I love you' that easy. When she say how she feels and the other person does not feel the same way, her heart will be crushed into pieces.

"Well," Carson did his hair by running his both hands through the hair (and sometimes, he did that because he was shy) "You're a very nice person and really pretty," Starla's cheeks were getting red and red because she was bashful. "Aaand you give me butterflies every time you're with me. Isn't that weird for a guy like me having butterflies in my stomach?" Carson furrowed, his feeling was a confussion for him. He never felt in love with someone so deep until he met Starla. "No, that's not weird at all. In fact, I usually get butterflies every time... I'm... With you..." Starla couldn't deny it. The times when she got butterflies when she was with Carson were countless. The way Carson told Starla about his dreams and the ambition that was always there with him always managed to impress Starla. Carson was like a rocket that was ready to be launched. And when it was ready, it would soar high to the sky and leave his past. In the end, he would face his bright, bright future, like the stars in the sky. "Really?" Carson doubted. Starla nodded, "And like I said, I admire you, Carson. Don't lose your hopes and dreams. You got the potential. Make that potential real. Just, let all things out. And when you get there, don't forget that—" "I'm a star." Carson finished Starla's word. "Yes, and don't forget about me." Starla asserted and pointed her finger right to Carson's tip of nose. They both laughed and Carson replied, "I won't, don't worry."

A moment later, their food has arrived. The waitress brought a tray full with 2 spaghettis and 2 plates of cookies n cream cheesecake. "Yum!" Carson exclaimed and rubbed his palms excitedly when the lady put the lunch on their table. He was like the witch who just got his meal ready. Starla just laughed after seeing Carson's behavior, which was kind of cute for her.

_"Bon appétit."_

Starla forked her spaghetti and stuffed it into her mouth. Although she tried to be lady-like in front of Carson, she couldn't hold her bad eating manner—sauce all over her cheeks, talked and ate at the same time. Carson had said, "Okay, calm down. Finish what's inside your mouth and talk." A hudred times, but there was no change. With a mouth full of cheesecake goodness, Starla said, "When I eat, I'm a beast—_literally_. I—I can't hold myself. I'm hungry and I want to eat. And after I get what I want, there is no freaking way to stop me." Carson still didn't know why he liked the girl, though the way she ate was pretty much gross.

They were home at 6. Carson dropped Starla by her house, although he had to drive 5 miles to reach his motel. He still couldn't found a proper place to live. He hadn't told Starla the truth and refused every time Starla had a desire to visit Carson's 'house'. "Come on, when is it my turn to visit your house for, I don't know, paper editing? Your crib must be bigger than mine and have lots of food." _Or not._ Carson only had one excuse, "I don't know, my parents don't want to have any company on weekdays and on the weekend we usually have our family bonding time, and you don't want to know what my parents are going to say every time they meet my friend who is a girl." He lied.

Starla's house was in the middle of suburban environment. At 6, they were still many kids who were playing ball or jump rope in the middle of the road. The sun hadn't fully set—it painted a beautiful panorama in the sky, mixed orangina and capri with beautiful shades of magenta and red, it made a majestic heaven scenery on earth.

"Thank you for the lunch and everything." Carson said to Starla by the entrance, hand-in-hand, face-to-face, thanked her for having his time of the life at Breadstix. "Hey, don't thank me," Starla replied, "I just showed you the place, you're the one who paid the bills. _You really are a gentleman._" Starla's eyes gleamed. Carson's cheeks blushed, he was never a gentleman. But for Starla, he was her knight in shining armor.

"I—," Carson wanted to say goodbye, but he didn't know how to do it. _Should I shake her hand? Should I hug her? Should I kiss her?_, Carson's mind puzzled. He moved closer, he wanted to kiss Starla but his mind said that he had to just hug her. Starla moved closer too, like a pair of magnet was about to attach one another. Carson's heart beat really fast—_should I pucker my lips and stick my tongue inside her mouth?_

They got closer

Closer

And closer...

"Maybe we should just shake hands." Carson's jaw dropped as Starla put out her right hand towards him. He shook her hand, scratched the back of his head, he was so embarrassed. He thought they were going to do more. Starla thought the same thing, but she hadn't ready for a lip lock.

"I guess, I just, um... See you later..." Carson stammered. He hid his shy face far away from Starla and avoided eye contact with her. He wanted to find the nearest cliff and jumped, so he wouldn't bear his shame. Carson jumped into his car, started the engine and drove away, as Starla walked on the ceramic floor and entered her house. She was also shy, because she was never that close with her crush in her life.

* * *

Monday had arrived, time for collecting the submission for the literally magazine. Carson put an empty gift box in front of the Mucracker room and wrote "SUBMISSION FOR THE LITERALLY MAGAZINE HERE" in a giant size plain white cardboard. He was too lazy to decorate it, so he only used a black marker. He put the cardboard above the box, it was stuck on the wall. After the put those things, he came back inside the Mucracker room and crossed his fingers for good luck.

Unlike the box he put for the literally magazine submission in Clover High that was filled with torn papers and banana peels, the one in McKinley High was full of literally stuff—_really good literally stuff_. Carson couldn't open the box without Starla, so he invited her and opened the box together. It was fullhouse. It was enough for 50 pages of magazine and there was still 20 works left for the next edition. It was not only because of the blackmail, but there were some people who got interested in writing for the magazine. 1000 flyers that both Carson and Starla had spead really paid off. Both of them were pleased.

Although Starla had offered Carson for a help in typing all the submissions, Carson refused. He thought it was sacred for him to type all the works alone and he didn't want Starla to know the sarcastic words he would throw when he read the writings in _sucks section_. Instead of just waiting around Carson to finish his work, Starla wrote her own submission for the magazine.

Carson was impressed by the submissions he got. McKinley High students really had the potential in writing, but they were too lazy to move their pens on the paper. One of Carson's favorites was a submission by Blaine Anderson.

_There is a moment where you say to yourself – 'Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you forever.'_

_There is a moment where you finally meet the love of your life, the one and only, that you really want to spend your time together with._

_There is a moment where you want to hug and kiss someone you love, but he is so far away that all you want to do is killing yourself because of the loneliness._

_There is a moment where you find the cure to your loneliness by spending your time with other person. You are not alone anymore, but the guilt inside your mind becomes a cancer that spreads around to your whole body._

_And there is a moment where you finally realize that no one will ever replace the love of your life, because he is the one that God has written in His book to be your true love until the end._

Not only by Blaine's work, Carson was also fascinated by Marley Rose's work. She was really a true beauty fighter.

_When you're insecure about your body size, it feels like hell. It feels like, everybody is staring at you because you have cheeks the size of tomatoes or you walk slowly like a turtle because you're holding so much fat. It feels terrible, really. I, myself, feel even worse when I know this fatty problem is genetic. You guys know my mother, the school lunch lady? I don't want to turn like her. I love her so much, more than I love this world. But, how will I handle my diabetes—if I get one—when the people around you is mocking shamelessly on you? I love my body. I'm still thin, though, but I can see myself in a few years. That is why I tried so many lose-weight methods, from extreme diet to pills until I stuck my finger inside my throat. I feel like those Big Fat Loser constestants. But, all those things didn't make me satisfied. In fact, it made me miserable. I fainted on last month's sectionals, which made all the glee club members throw their F words on me. But then, I realized that I didn't have to lose weight, I just had to gain my kindness. So, I started to open myself up and let my inner beauty out. And, I got an amazing advice from one of my best friends (Carson, I know you know this brunette beauty, and my advice to you is Go. Get. Her. She. Is. The. Best) that I don't need this. I'm proud of who I am and nothing can stop me. I remember Lady Gaga's born this way lyric, "I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God make no mistake" He doesn't make mistake, but He creates different kinds of beauty because beauty is not something that we can count or judge, it it something that comes from deep inside our heart..._

_Wow, that was deep, _Carson ended his reading in such a puzzled mind._ I didn't know girls had so much pain because of the beauty pressure_. Marley surely knew how to use the school literally magazine to spread her message that _inner beauty matters_. And her words about Starla inside the brackets really made Carson sure about having Starla as his girlfriend, he just still didn't know when would he propose the girl since his magazine hadn't done yet. _She'll definitely get the front page_, Carson flipped through another works from students. "Oh, this one's interesting." Carson talked to himself. Carson pulled a piece of pink scented paper from the stack of sheets. It smelled like fresh strawberries with glitters all over the page. Some of the blings were stuck on Carson's fingers and nails, which made him look like he just had a manicure treatment. He looked at what picture was behind the writings, it was a unicorn. _Brittany_, Carson figured. Brittany was obsessed with unicorns, until she considered herself a unicorn because she was a special human being that God created one and only.

_This year is my second senior year at McKinley High. I didn't graduate because score was 0.0. Actually, people already knew I wouldn't graduate. I couldn't count, I thought the President of the United States was Will. I. Am. When everybody at school underestimates me at school, I always think myself as a unicorn. According to Wikipedia, The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard and cloven hooves. It symbolizes majesty, purity, and wisdom. Among horses, unicorn is the only horse-like creature that has a horn, which means unicorns are special in their own way. I am unicorn. I am special in my own way. Maybe I'm not academically smart, but at least I am good at something. People say my name is similar to Britney Spears, which I denied the first time, my face looks like Ke$ha before she drinks her booze and my version of Single Ladies number is way better than Beyonce's. I believe I am special and that is something that I want to show people. My re-senior year at McKinley is my second chance to prove people that I am special and I ain't dumb. I am 1000% believe that I will graduate this year and get out of this school. I haven't decided my next stop, so I just enjoy this bumpy ride._

Brittany's words choice was still a mess, but Carson understood what she was trying to say. He was an under appreciated self in Clover. No one understood his desire, not even his parents. He believed he was special and got the potential to be a big person, but everyone just underestimated him, just like the way people underestimated Brittany. McKinley was his second chance to prove that he would be success, and this was the moment. Carson had to move forward and left the past. He didn't consider Clover as his home anymore. In fact, he was on his way to get to his new home in New York.

* * *

The following day, Carson was delighted because his literally magazine was ready to publish. The baby he had waiting for a long time had finally born. When he took the pages, arranged it, and stapled all the sheets, it felt like he just made the most special masterpiece in the world. It was like the time when Da vinci finished his Monalisa painting, or the time when Alexander Graham Bell invented telephone. This was the second time Carson felt like this, after he finished his first unpublished magazine. He didn't publish the first one, but he would, even_ must_ publish the second magazine. He assured everyone would buy the magazine, and in case no one wanted to read it, he would sell it to the motel he was staying or the local hospital. Carson's hard work that had taken his sleep time (he slept at 3 in the morning just to print all the copies) had to be a bomb, no matter what.

Carson walked into the Mucracker room, looking very happy with his hands holding a box full of the magazine copies, and met Starla who was staring at the blackboard filled with complex scheme on how to arrange the selling strategy of the magazine. "Heeey," Carson grinted and greeted Starla like he just used amphetamine. Carson's eyes were bursting in happiness like fireworks in forth of July. Then, he put the box on the table. Starla looked at him surprisingly. "Oh my God, our magazine!" Starla covered her mouth with both palms, looking very shocked. She ran to the table and took one of the copies of the mag. Its cover was tangerine, just like Carson's magazine in Clover. The cover was designed by both Starla and Carson. It was a mixture of grafitti, school mascot, and pictures of papers and pens. They thought that way they could sell the magazine to every students at the school, from jocks to the group of anti-social peeps. Starla flipped through the pages gleefully, she was amazed. There were lots of writings and stories from the students. Not only from the blackmail victims, she found lots of works from the students who voluntarily wrote on the magazine. They were from different backgrounds—there were from the jet setters, suburban families, even drugs consumer families. They shared happy, sad, even weird and made no sense stories. "Carson," Starla said, "You did it." Her eyes were sparkled. Carson, looking pretty much calm like nothing happened, shoved his hands deeper into his pocket modestly, and replied,"Ehm, this is actually _our baby_. This is our work, okay? But, I did the editing and the blackmailing myself, so," Starla quickly hit Carson on the shoulder, and said, "Hello? Who blackmailed Marley? It was moi." Starla flicked her hair. Carson just raised his left eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Look at that," Starla looked at her magenta watch that suited her vest and pistachio green bodycon dress. "I gotta run. Brittany and I have to discuss about the song that we're going to sing in the next glee club meeting." "What is it?" Carson asked, curiously. Starla, who was heading to the door, turned around and threw a glance at Carson seductively. "Not for the assignment, but it's a surprise." Starla answered, then she continued her walk to the exit.

_Is this the right time?_

_Should I tell her that I like her?_

_Well, this is the right time._

_We're done with the mag and we're free._

_Crap, should I?_

_Get your macho on, stud. It's now or never._

Carson took a really deep breath and exhaled. "Starla!" He approached Starla before she blended with the crowd in the hallway. And just as Starla spun around to respond, Carson quickly caught her in his arm and kissed her. It was a long overdue kiss full of passion and tongue. They ignored the 'no Public Display of Affection' policy, like they were the only person in the world. They recreated the scene when Peter Parker caught Gwen Stacy with his spider net and they kissed. _They were the Peter and Gwen of McKinley_, except Carson couldn't transform into Spiderman and he couldn't fight with villains on the street all by himself.

Before there were teachers who noticed what they were doing—_or worse, Sue Sylvester_—Carson and Starla pulled back their lips. Their breath were heavy, because the kiss took so much energy from both bodies.

_"You kissed me."_ Starla said, surprised.

_"I did."_ Carson replied.

_"But, why?"_

_"It's because I realize that I love spending time with you and I want to spend the rest of my lifetime with you."_ Carson's smile was Starla's kryptonite. Starla's eyes shined. She knew this moment would come, but she couldn't say her feeling because she was pretty much speechless. Starla gulped the taste of cheeseburger that she had after the kiss and said, "I—you know—I'd love to spend my time with you too. I like you from the moment we shared the rotating handle together, God that just sounds weird," Starla wiped her forehead when there was no sweat and laughed because she just said the stupidest word that she could come up with. "And, yeah, and the duet we had was romantically amazing. And the truth is, I'm aroused every time you tell me your dreams and ambition." Carson's face was red. He walked backwards, scratched the back of his head and acted like a shy puppy. "So, is that mean we're dating now?" Carson asked. Starla with her hands behind her back, rolled her eyes and smiled excitedly, and said, "Yup. But you owe me my practice time for the number I'm working on with the girls." Carson gulped, _wow she is always serious about time and schedule. _"That," Carson approached Starla back and threw his arm over her shoulder. He hugged his girl tightly and said, "We can rearrange that. Come, I'll take you to the choir room to meet them." Then, they walked down the corridor arm-in-arm, as they made their way to the choir room which was just a few doors away from the Mucracker room.

* * *

It was 45 minutes before the glee club meeting. Carson and Starla entered the choir room, making weird impressions between the clubbers. Carson shared Starla a kiss on the forehead, which the members only had one guess—_they're dating_. "Aww, look at the two lovebirds," Kitty passed by both of them with her arm crossed over her chest and her eyes shot huge amount of jealousy. "You guys make me sick." Kitty said. Jake never did that to her, in fact he got closer and closer with Marley, which made Kitty want to throw a grenade at Marley's face. Carson and Starla exchanged glances, just smirked in ignorance. They unchained their arms on each other's shoulders and blended it with the other kids.

_You know what_

_I like the playettes_

_No diggity, no doubt_

_Play on playette_

_Play on playette_

_Yo Artie, drop the verse_

It was "Ride Wit Me" all over again. Before the glee club started, they sang Blackstreet's "No Diggity" together. After the upper generation sang Nelly's song, there hadn't sung a hip hop song in acapella ever again for years. Artie, Tina, and Brittany were the witnesses of the rap-capella back when they were freshmen and sophomore (for Brittany). It was beautiful with harmony and togetherness. It made the club so tight, even though Sue Sylvester was trying to crush the club. No one cared about what Sue did, it was all the love and the bond for all of them.

Joe Hart dropped the intro as Artie Abrams spread his swag on the first verse.

_It's going down, fade to Blackstreet_

_The homies got RB, collab' creations_

_Bump like Acne, no doubt_

_I put it down, never slouch_

_As long as my credit can vouch_

_A dog couldn't catch me ass out_

_Tell me who can stop when Dre making moves_

_Attracting honeys like a magnet_

_Giving em eargasms with my mellow accent_

_Still moving this flavour_

_With the homies Blackstreet and Teddy_

_The original rump shakers_

Marley Rose took the second part with her powerful voice that was hidden behind her soft look and attitude.

_Shorty get down, good Lord_

_Baby got em up open all over town_

_Strictly bitchy, she don't play around_

_Cover much ground, got game by the pound_

Marley harmonized with Brittany S. Pierce and Tina Cohen-Chang, like the Charlie's Angels of music.

_Getting paid is a forte_

_Each and every day, true player way_

Marley, with the help of Wade 'Unique' Adams, finished her part beautifully.

_I can't get her out of my mind_

_(what)_

_I think about the girl all the time_

Ryder Lynn took the next lyric. He was so excited about this, because he never sang this kind of song in his life. He was a newly recruited member before Carson, so he didn't involve in the "Ride Wit Me" number. In fact, most of them didn't involve in the number because they were new in school.

_East side to the west side_

_Pushing phat rides, it's no surprise_

_She got tricks in the stash_

_Stacking up the cash_

_Fast when it comes to the gas_

_By no means average_

_She's on when she's got to have it_

_Baby, you're a perfect ten, I wanna get in_

_Can I get down, so I can win_

Jake Puckerman sang the chorus with his lady killer voice together with all the kids. He took the _I like the way you work it part and I got to bag it up, bag it up_, as the kids took the _no diggity_ part

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

Other lady killing voices, Blaine Anderson and Sam Evans, took the verse. Despite the fact that he was gay, Blaine could make the girls' knees turned into jelly. Back when he was one of the Warblers hunk, he sang Neon Trees' "Animal" and the girls gave him their phone numbers. He refused, Blaine said they were not his type.

_She's got class and style_

_Street knowledge by the pound,_

_Baby never act wild_

_Very low key on the profile_

_Catching feelin's is a no,_

_Let me tell you how it goes_

_Herb's the words, spins the verbs_

_Lovers it curves so freak what you heard_

_Rollin' with the phatness_

_You don't even know what the half is_

_You got to pay to play_

_Just for shorty, bang-bang, to look your way_

_I like the way you work it_

_Trumped tight, all day, every day_

_You're blowing my mind, maybe in time_

_Baby, I can get you in my ride_

Just like how Jake sang this part, Sam took the chorus with the kids.

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

This was the most fun part. The kids harmonized this part together beautifully. They grooved and danced around together. They sang like they had no weight in their minds. They were as free as the birds in the sky.

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_Hey yo, that girl looks good_

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_Play on, play on playette_

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_You're my kind of girl, no diggity_

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_Hey_

Surprisingly, Starla who was dancing around next to Carson who just sat firmly on his chair, took the next rap verse. Nobody knew she could rap, until this time she showed it to the world. She had been rapping inside her bedroom for years, lived her life listening to old skool rap songs and the modern ones, she never had the guts to prove the world there was an inner Nicki Minaj inside her.

_Cause that's my peeps and we row G_

_Flying first class from New York City to Blackstreet_

_What you know about me, not a motherf.. thing_

_Cartier wooded frames supported by my shortie_

_As for me, icy gleaming pinky diamond ring_

_We be's the baddest clique up on the scene_

_Ain't you getting bored with these fake ass broads_

_I shows and proves, no doubt, I be letting you know_

_Please excuse, if I come across rude_

_That's just me and that's how the playettes got to be_

_Stay kicking game with a capital G_

_Axe the peoples on my block, I'm as real as can be_

_Word is bored, faking moves never been my flavor_

_So, Teddy, pass the word to your nigga Chauncy_

_I'll be sending the car, let's say around 3:30_

_New Directions kids and me, it's no diggity_

Jake and Sam sang the next verse in unison with the kids.

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

_I like the way you work it_

_No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up_

And just like what they did on the same verse before, the kids jammed around and ended the song. They had burnt the house down with their kick ass 90's rap song.

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_Hey yo, that girl looks good_

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_Play on, play on playette_

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_You're my kind of girl, no diggity_

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_

_Hey_

"WHOOOO!" That was a wrap. It was perfecto. And no longer after they finished the song, Mr. William Schuester who was listening by the entrance all this time, walked inside the room and saluted the kids after what they had done. "GUYS, THAT WAS INSANE! I SALUTE YOU GUYS FOR THE SONG. THIS IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE AND YOU GUYS SANG IT BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL." Mr. Schue's hand claps were endless. The kids were also glad that they had sung the song and impressed their teacher.

"Hey, I didn't know you could rap." Carson whispered on Starla's ear. Starla turned her head to him and replied, "Who says I can't." And smirked gleefully. They hadn't been dating for a day, but they had kissed for a million times. Starla smooched on Carson's red cheek gently.

"That performance has inspired me for this week's assignment," Mr. Schue took a black marker and wrote HIP HOP on the white board. Like a magician who just did a marvelous trick, Mr. Schue turned his body around and said, "Hip hop!" He made the kids excited. "Finally! Preach, Mr. Schue, preach!" Artie with his signature 'Preach' quote finally felt aprreciated. They had never done a hip hop week before. Artie had sung tons of hip hop songs in glee club and he had waited for this assignment forever. He finally could give his hand to the kids and guide them for this assignment. "And you guys have burnt the whole house down with No Diggity. Now, it's time for you guys to come up with more hip hop songs and sing it here, in glee club." Mr. Schue pointed at the floor where the kids would sing the song in front of the glee club. Clapping hands of the glee club kids echoed in the room. They jumped on their seats and quickly discussed on the song thay they were going to sing with their friends.

"Mr. Schue?"

"Yes, Starla?"

"I think I have a perfect song for the assignment."

Starla jumped off her stool and gathered on the center of the floor with Tina and Brittany. They had practiced the song for a week, but they hadn't got a chance to sing it for everyone. It was the right time to jam the song, since the song was a kick butt lady rap song and it was perfect for the week.

Starla rapped Nicki Minaj's Super Bass with Brittany and Tina. Starla waved her hands and stomped her feet, looking so vibe with her swag. She secretly dedicated the song to Carson, who happened to sit next to a mega booming speaker (referring to the first line of the lyrics).

_This one is for the boys with the booming system_

_Top down, AC with the cooling system_

_When he come up in the club, he be blazin' up_

_Got stacks on deck like he savin' up_

_And he ill, he real, he might got a deal_

_He pop bottles and he got the right kind of bill_

_He cold, he dope, he might sell coke_

_He always in the air, but he never fly coach_

_He a motherfucking trip, trip, sailor of the ship, ship_

_When he make it drip, drip kiss him on the lip, lip_

_That's the kind of dude I was lookin' for_

_And yes you'll get slapped if you're lookin' hoe_

_I said, excuse me, you're a hell of a guy_

_I mean my, my, my, my you're like pelican fly_

_I mean, you're so shy and I'm loving your tie_

_You're like slicker than the guy with the thing on his eye, oh_

_Yes I did, yes I did, somebody please tell him who the F I is_

_I am Nicki Minaj, I mack them dudes up, back coupes up, and chuck the deuce up_

Brittany and Tina sang the chorus together. Starla, Brittany, and Tina danced in one line together through the chorus. Brittany coreographed the dance, which was really sexy.

_Boy you got my heartbeat runnin' away_

_Beating like a drum and it's coming your way_

_Can't you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

_Yeah that's the super bass_

_Got that super bass boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

_Yeah that's the super bass_

_(Boom) [x15]_

_You got that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, he got that super bass_

_Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, he got that super bass_

Starla continued her part. She made comical face expression between the line that she sang, just like the way Nicki sang her songs.

_This one is for the boys in the polos_

_Entrepreneur niggas & the moguls_

_He could ball with the crew, he could solo_

_But I think I like him better when he dolo_

_And I think I like him better with the fitted cap on_

_He ain't even gotta try to put the mac on_

_He just gotta give me that look, when he give me that look_

_Then the panties comin' off, off, uh_

_Excuse me, you're a hell of a guy you know I really got a thing for American guys_

_I mean, sigh, sickenin' eyes I can tell that you're in touch with your feminine side, oh_

_Yes I did, yes I did, somebody please tell him who the F I is_

_I am Nicki Minaj, I mack them dudes up, back coupes up, and chuck the deuce up_

The chorus part was still the same. Britt Britt and Tina took the solo. Their dance got even sexier than before. It was all about the gal power.

_Boy you got my heartbeat runnin' away_

_Beating like a drum and it's coming your way_

_Can't you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

_Yeah that's the super bass_

_Got that super bass boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

_Yeah that's the super bass_

_(Boom)[x15] _

This time, Starla unveiled the truth. She walked towards Carson and pulled his hand. She dragged him to the middle of the room. She tried to tell the message behind the bridge. She also did some teasing moves, just to add a little sexy to the song.

_See I need you in my life for me to stay_

_No, no, no, no, no I know you'll stay_

_No, no, no, no, no don't go away (ay-ay)_

_Boy you got my heartbeat runnin' away_

_Don't you hear that heartbeat comin' your way_

_Oh it be like, boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

_Can't you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

Tina and Brittany sang the chorus again, but they just sang it on the beckground because Starla got really busy with his man.

_Boy you got my heartbeat runnin' away_

_Beating like a drum and it's coming your way_

_Can't you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

_Yeah that's the super bass_

_Got that super bass boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass_

_Yeah that's the super bass_

It was the end of the song. Starla pulled her man and put his hands on her hips. They spun around a little bit and they kissed. Some were irritated because they showed too much PDA, but some were happy that they both were a couple.

Mr. Schue, who was sitting on the seat where Carson sat, clapped his hands excitedly. The girls had shown a perfect number for the assignment. "Great job, guys!" Mr. Schue approached the four of them and embraced them. "And you guys," the teacher pointed at the rest of the kids and said, "You'd better sing more kick-butt songs and put some swag in it!" Mr. Schue was a 90's boyband obsessive, trying to be young again kind of teacher. But, he was cool. Thanks to him, the New Directions could win the National championship and have its status raised up in the end of the year. It was a happy ending for the graduates, a meaningful end for their misfit story in high school. Now, it was time for the new New Directions kids to stand for their title, with Mr. Schue as the guide.

"Mr. Schue?" Carson said, trying to unattach the hug from his body. "Yes, Carson?" "Starla and I have finished the first edition for the literally magazine." A smile was painted on the teacher's lips. "Great, let me see." Carson ran to his satchel bag and took 18 copies of the magazine; 15 for the glee club members, 1 for Mr. Schue, 1 for Brad the Piano Man, and 1 for himself. The glee clubbers were satisfied by how the magazine turned out. "Hey, that's my writing!" "Hey, I think it's really good." "Omg, Carson! You did it!" Those were the words that echoed around the room. Carson's smile was as wide as the sky, his happy feeling was undeniable. His hard work had finally paid off. Maybe the blackmailing process Carson attempted wasn't so bad at all.

"When will you publish the magazine, Carson?" Tina asked to Carson. Carson answered, confidently, "Tomorrow. I will put it from one locker door to another. I will make those cattles read it whatsoever."

The following day, Carson went to school early in the morning. When there was only the janitor at school, Carson sneaked in to put his literally magazine copies into every student's locker. He was not looking for money from the magazine sell, he only wanted some appreciation for his hard work.

After Carson finished tucking the magazine copies and the janitor opened the gate, he waited for the kids to come and read the magazine. Carson waited patiently in the Mucracker room.

At 8 o'clock precisely, Carson heard the sound of footsteps and slamming locker door. It was time for Carson to see how the kids reacted to his magazine. He peeked on the Mucracker's door and saw many kids walking here and there, flipping every pages on the magazine. _Finally_, Carson thought. Finally, Carson made his own dream to run a literally magazine come true. Finally, he proved the world what kind of man Carson was—Carson was a man who never gave up. Finally, he could jump to the next step to pursue his big plan to go to the Northwestern. The only thing left to do was sending a copy of the magazine and submission letter to the university and waited patiently for the reply. Carson always crossed his finger for a huge luck. One time he wanted to give up, thank God he never did. Carson finally didn't think moving to Lima was such a waste. In Lima, he finally could contemplate his strategy to go to Northwestern and try to realize his future career. And in Lima, Carson finally met his one true love that he had been looking for...


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Carson and Starla are getting serious about their relationship! But, something is going down with the two of them and a truth will be revealed! Plus, someone from Clover will pay an unpleasant visit for Carson. Enjoy! and don't forget to review :)_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 5**

Carson and Starla had been dating for 2 weeks. They had shared so many romantic, happy, even sad moments together. Carson always drove Starla home and promised to her father not to leave her alone. They also made a special schedule; every Thursday night, if there was no homework, they usually had a movie night. Starla's family was quite a movie maniac. In the mini library inside her house, Starla kept a big glass cupboard filled with movies from the late 50's until the present time. According to the schedule they made, Starla usually chose the movie in week 1 and 3. On the other hand, Carson chose the movie in week 2 and 4. If the month had 5 weeks, they chose the movie together in the 5th Thursday. In choosing the movie, they added a little twist by using a blindfold when Carson or Starla wanted to choose the movie. If Carson was the one who chose the movie, Starla guided his hand to choose the movie. Sometimes, they cheated by directing the partner's hand to the movie Carson or Starla wanted all this time.

_"God, Grease? Again? This is like the 3rd time we watch this movie." _Carson said obnoxiously, handing out the John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John dynamic duet flick to Starla.

_"Well, the hand has spoken."_ Starla said, covering her ingenuity.

Carson and Starla had been on several dates, but there was one date they never forgot. It was Friday after school. They just finished editing the second edition of the literally magazine. When they went home, they passed by the football field and suddenly the rain poured down really heavy. "Gaaah, we should've just walked through the hallway instead of walking through this fucking shortcut!" Carson ranted. He forgot his girlfriend was drowned like a harassed rat, trying to cover herself with her backpack. "God, Jesus Fucking Christ, you're soaking wet. Come here," Carson stopped ranting and covered Starla with his sky blue hoodie. "You're must be really cold." "Actually..." Starla took off the hoodie and held Carson's hands tight. They were face-to-face and arms-to-arms in the middle of the rain. "This is kind of romantic. You, me, under the rain. Why don't we... Dance?" Starla was struck by the idea of dancing under the rain, just like in movies. "Dance? Like two crazy people under this huge rain?" Carson raised his eyes doubtly. After the lightning incident that struck his body, Carson was traumatized by rain and lightning. He was traumatized by how the thunder could run through his body and affect all the nerves and his brain. When Carson survived the lightning, it was a miracle. He didn't want to get struck by lightning for the second time. He didn't want to risk his life for the second time.

"Yeah, come here I'll show you," Starla put Carson's left hand on her right shoulder and Carson's right hand on her left hips. "You just have to move back and forth. Wait, I have the perfect song for this." Starla took her iPod and shuffled her 'Waltz' playlist. It was actually a group of songs for slow dance. Jonas Brothers' When You Look Me in the Eyes came out in shuffle.

_If the heart is always searching,_

_Can you ever find a home?_

_I've been looking for that someone,_

_I'll never make it on my own_

_Dreams can't take the place of loving you,_

_There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true._

Carson couldn't take his eyes off Starla's. Her shiny black eyes met Carson's pearly blue eyes was the most beautiful scene in the middle of the field.

_When you look me in the eyes,_

_And tell me that you love me._

_Everything's alright,_

_When you're right here by my side._

_When you look me in the eyes,_

_I catch a glimpse of heaven._

_I find my paradise,_

_When you look me in the eyes._

Starla rested her head on Carson's chest comfortably.

_How long will I be waiting_

_To be with you again?_

_Gonna tell you that I love you,_

_In the best way that I can._

_I can't take a day without you here,_

_You're the light that makes my darkness disappear._

_When you look me in the eyes,_

_And tell me that you love me._

_Everything's alright,_

_When you're right here by my side._

_When you look me in the eyes,_

_I catch a glimpse of heaven._

_I find my paradise,_

_When you look me in the eyes._

_More and more I start to realize,_

_I can reach my tomorrow,_

_I can hold my head up high,_

_And it's all because you're by my side._

Carson leaned in and pressed his soft lips gently to Starla. They kissed under the rain for 6 seconds, it was the most beautiful 6 seconds they had ever had. It was like the end of a fairy tale, where the prince kissed the princess and they lived hapilly ever after.

_When you look me in the eyes,_

_And tell me that you love me._

_Everything's alright,_

_When you're right here by my side._

_When I hold you in my arms,_

_I know that it's forever._

_I just gotta let you know,_

_I never wanna let you go._

Carson and Starla pulled back their lips and they pressed each other's noses and had a very romantic eskimo kiss. They smiled gleefully, they felt like they were the only people left in the world. They felt the world was theirs and they painted every corner of it with their pure love.

_When you look me in the eyes._

_And tell me that you love me._

_Everything's alright,_

_When you're right here by my side._

_When you look me in the eyes,_

_I catch a glimpse of heaven._

_I find my paradise,_

_When you look me in the eyes._

_Oh _

The rain was getting heavier. The two lovebirds covered themselves with Carson's jacket and ran to find a way to go to the parking lot without getting soppy and wet.

* * *

Carson Phillips' literally magazine had reached its third edition. The magazine got good reviews from most students. They said the magazine was fresh, unlike something the kids had done in McKinley. Even the #1 top blogger in school, Jacob Ben Israel, wrote an article about the magazine in his blog.

_"Carson Phillips has proven that he was not just some newbie who wants an instant fame here in McKinley. Although he had to go through many struggles that remains untold, Carson's magazine is a huge hit. The magazine is filled with students' stories and poetry, which becomes a place for kids to express how they feels. Happy? Sad? Terrified? You can find it all in this weekly magazine."_ Quoted from Jacob's blog.

Carson was on top of everything. He might not be one of the jocks or popular kids in McKinley, but every time he passed by the hallway, there must be one or two students greeted him. "Carson! Yo, Carson! High-five!" He always got that, even though he didn't know who greeted him. A few days after the blackmail operation, Carson always got death stares from his fellow mates in glee club, like from Kitty and Ryder. Carson found out about Ryder's dyslexia when he went to the library and saw Ryder reading a book. He hadn't finished one paragraph for 5 minutes. He was struggling really hard.

_"Ryder, did you just read that paragraph for 5 minutes?"_

_"N-no, why?"_

_"Hmm, I think we need to talk."_

Carson sat beside Ryder, with a thick book about Egyptian Civilization on his hand.

"Dude, try to read this." Carson pointed at the word 'reciprocate' in Ryder's book. Ryder furrowed his forehead. "I... Re—re—cipro—" Carson closed the book and said, "Dude, have you ever told this to anyone?" Ryder shook his head and said, "Never. My father got a PhD, no one wants to find out that his son is an idiot." Carson comforted Ryder. He placed his palm on Ryder's back and said, "You shouldn't be ashamed of yourself. It's not like your mother gave birth to a pterodactyl." _Offensive_, Ryder shoot his death stare at Carson. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Ryder begged. Carson rolled his eyes, _another Mckinleygate operation victim._ "As long as you submit a writing to the literally magazine, my lips will be sealed." "Dude, I have dyslexic and you want me to write a story? It's like you ask a man cow to produce milk or give birth." Ryder gave a metaphore on how the situation worked. "Well, I'll help you. But if you don't want to, I assure your secret will be spread around like nutella." Carson threw back his arm on Ryder's shoulder. Ryder agreed to submit a writing to the magazine.

In glee club meeting a few days later, Carson got the price from the blackmailing that he did. When he went into the choir room, all eyes were staring at him with a sneer. The day was all about planning on the next sectionals. Costumes, songs, choreographs, they arranged all of them in one day.

"What about the girls use a black tulle skirt with a violet tube top and the boys wear violet long sleeves shirt and black pants?" Tina, who still had her inner goth style, conveyed her idea. "Although that sounds cool, but I think it'll fire up our performance if we use all-red dress and shirt?" Carson told everyone in front of the whole glee clubbers. Everyone rolled their eyes and halfheartedly agreed. "All-red is fine." Sugar rolled her eyes and wrote down the idea, since she was the head of the costume department. Carson shoved his jeans pocket and asked curiously, "Why did you guys let me make all the decisions? There's like 16 or 17 people here, why didn't you use another person's idea, not mine?"

_"Well if we used your idea, would you stop asking us to write in your stupid magazine?" _Ryder gave his own opinion. In that moment, Carson had a mini heart attack and realization that nobody liked him. Carson was not the man who gave a single damn on people's opinions. He kept moving forward and closed his ears every time he heard something bad about him.

* * *

Carson finally had the guts to send his literally magazine to Northwestern. He prepared the form and his magazine plus a special letter, then went to a post office nearby. As soon as he arrived in the post office, he gave an envelope full of papers that he had prepared to the postman and let the magic happened.

_What if I didn't get in?_

_What if they didn't accept me?_

_What it my magazine wasn't good enough?_

_Fuck you, my inner pesimistic devil side._

_I will get into that school, for sure._

_I'm good enough to step my feet and study in Northwestern._

_I'm ready, I know I am._

Carson hoped the Northwestern would accept him. All he had to do were keeping his fingers crossed and waiting for the acceptance letter.

The next day, Carson was inside the Mucracker room, typing from the morning until the afternoon, trying to come up with ideas for the new edition of the literally magazine. He had to skip 3 classes just to design the cover and finish a story about under-appreciated and over-achiver kids like him.

_"To all of us, this is our year._

_-The end"_

Carson shut down his laptop, threw his glasses to the table, and jerked to the back of his chair. _God, how I spent 3 straight hours for one story,_ Carson drowned into his own thoughts. No longer after that, the lunchtime bell rang and snapped Carson back to the reality. _Recess, shoot! I have a lunch date with Starla._ Carson jumped out of his seat and quickly fetched his jacket on the table and put it on. A moment before Carson stepped outside the room, Starla was heading towards him. She brought a piece of paper with printed writing and a stack of books from her previous lesson. Carson sat back and Starla stood up right in front of him. She gave the paper to Carson and said, "This is my submission for the next literally magazine. _And this will be my last_," Carson confusedly took the paper and before he could speak, the girl continued _"I quit." _

Carson was speechless. He was out of words to reply Starla's last word. _I quit_. His heartbeat suddenly stopped, along with his brain and his body. He froze on his seat._ Is this for real? I can run the magazine by myself to be honest, but how am I supposed to run it without Starla? She was the firecracker to my flame. But that doesn't mean we're not dating anymore, right?_

As Starla walked to the door, Carson tried to run after her. "_Stars, wait! _You can't quit like that! I can't edit these papers all by myself! You can't leave me alone!"

_"Just like the way you left us in Clover, Carson?"_

A familiar girl voice echoed by the exit. The voice was so recognizable in Carson's ears, suddenly a series of bad memories flashed in Carson's mind.

_"Oh, um, my apologies but you know homecoming's nothing without the cheer float."_

_"2, 4, 6, 8, Heard you like to fornicate!"_

_"Carson!"_

_"Even if you spread whatever 'information' you have on us, no one is going to believe you."_

_"They will believe, 'cause we will spread that shit like nutella."_

_"Oh Carson, you always thought you were so much better than us because we all couldn't stand you but get ready for pure hatred coming your way because as soon as the rest of the school finds out about this and they tell their parents, the entire town will actually hate you!"_

_"Claire Matthews?" _Carson raised his left eyebrow with his hand on his chest and puckered his lips, shocked. "Oh, Carson, Carson. I bet you didn't expect my appearance here, huh?" Claire Matthews was one of the students in Clover High School. She was the head of cheerleader, had a jock boyfriend, everything was perfect until Carson blackmailed her because of her affair with her boyfriend, Justin Walker's father, Collin. It was not such a surprise when Malerie caught the two of them banging on the teacher's table, since Claire had had sex with the entire people in school.

Carson and Claire were childhood friends. One time Carson opened Claire's eyes to see her childhood dream. She said to her classmates that wanted to be a ballerina. Now, after 17 years of her life, she soon realized that it was an impossible dream to pursue because she would end up stuck in Clover alone. But then, Carson said to her,

_"At what grade do we stop believing in ourselves? At what grade do we stop believing, period? I mean, someone has to be a Noble Peace Prize winner, someone has to be ballerina. Why not us? I can't be the only one who gets that."_

After that Carson and Claire still didn't get along very well, but when Claire heard about Carson's fake death news and believed it her heart was crushed. She didn't show it, though, because she still put on airs and didn't want her friends at school to look at her as a weepy little schoolgirl.

"Claire, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Clover, right?" Carson opened his mouth widely, trying not to explode because of the huge amount of dismay that he held. Claire walked towards the man and crossed her arms on her chest. _"Carson, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in your grave, rotting, because of the 'lightning' that struck your ass."_ Claire asked him back, sarcastically. _That spicy little mouth_, Carson rolled his eyes.

"Carson Phillips, you can fool everyone in Clover, but not me. I have wolf instinct that can sniff your fucking smell, even if you're 1000 kilometers away." Claire said. She tried to make Carson uncomfortable by standing really close to Carson until she could feel the tip of his nose on hers. "How did you know I was here?" Carson stepped back from the girl and shooed her away. "This little birdie told me," Claire swayed away to where Starla was standing and hugged her from behind. "She happens to be my cousin," Claire carressed Starla's hair creepily. It was like a scene in a thriller movie, when a psychotic serial killer threatened her victim viciously. "Long story short, I asked Starla to get closer to you and spy on you to prove that you were such a big fat liar, _which_ you are." Claire continued. Carson's ear bursted into flames as Claire told him that Starla took a part in this plan Claire created.

Carson felt like he was betrayed by Starla. How could someone he loved do this to him? Or maybe this was all just a trap and Starla's love for Carson was not as real as it seemed? All Carson wanted to do was taking his heart off his body and throwing it away so he would not feel his love for Starla and break his heart ever again.

"Carson, I'm sorry," Starla mouthed to Carson. She couldn't say the word out loud because of the pain that held her voice inside her chest. Her eyes were teary because of the regret that she let out through her black shiny eyes. "Stars, how could you do this to me? You know that I love you very, very much." Carson asked weakly. He also couldn't hold his tears. He had his love soar away to the sky until it fell down to the ground of lies. After collecting some courage, Starla finally explained the truth. "I—I love you too, Carson, but I can explain. When Claire told me about you, I thought you were an asshole. You blackmailed the entire school and objected your own principal's idea and erased the off-campus privilege and made all people hated you. You grossed me out, you did. So, I agreed to the idea of pretending to like you. But then, I realized that all this time I wasn't pretending. It was real, from deep down of my heart," Starla pointed to the left side of her chest. "I have feelings for you. The stories we wrote, the songs we sang, the kisses we had, they were all real to me. You have to believe me, Carson. And the more I realized I was in love with you, the more pain killed me inside because I agreed with Claire's idea. I couldn't stop, so I just had to keep it to myself."

Carson had no idea this was going to happen to him. He didn't know all this time his good life in Lima was just a mirage in empty desert. What he thought it was better in Lima, it was just the same as the one in Clover. Sure the whole school loved his magazine, but his love story was nothing but a flight of fancy.

"I'm sorry, Starla, I can't—I can't believe you anymore. You lied to me and I can't hold onto your words ever again." Carson said softly. He was a tough man, but he couldn't hide his sadness after what happened to him.

Starla's tears poured down her cheeks. As soon as she heard Carson said he didn't believe on her anymore, the more her heart suffered from heartbreak. "But, you don't understand, Carson. I. Have. Feelings. For. You! And this is not something that I made up. I already knew the truth okay?! You run away from your house, want to go to Illinois, but you can't because you haven't finished your high school. And all this time you're staying in a motel not far from here, that's why you reject my wish to visit your house. And I'm fine with it." Starla snapped. She still hoped Carson would forgive her, but it was too late.

"God, I do understand! You're Claire's cousin, which means you're related to this bitch," Carson said, pointed to Claire who was offensed when he called her 'bitch'. Claire sniffed her nose in disagreement and Carson continued, "And that makes you a bitch!" Carson's anger was uncontrollable. He never called someone 'bitch' unless he hated the person so much. Carson didn't mean to call Starla a bitch. In fact, he respected the girl so much and promised to treat her right. But, his soul was possessed by a demon and the fight had broken their promise.

Carson thought everything that he said or did was wrong. He shook his head, _this isn't right... I should've not called her bitch_. "I—I— I'm done with you guys, so done!" He cockblocked the space between Claire and Starla and left the room furiously. Carson wished things would never end up like this—He wished he never ran away from Clover. He wished he never went to Lima and studied at McKinley. He wished he said, "No thanks, I can do it myself." And rejected Starla's offer to help him opening the rotating handle of his locker. He wished their hands would never touched and he never had a feeling for her. He wished everything didn't happen this way, but it turned out the opposite.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I realize that there are errors on the time and date and I'm sorry. I was meant to publish it months ago, but I didn't have a chance until today. I'm so so so sorry :)_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 6**

Oh his way home, Carson thought _what's the use of staying in Lima when there is nothing that can hold you anymore?_ Starla was the one that held him in Lima, and now that Starla had betrayed Carson, he thought maybe this was the time to choose between _go on or go home._

Carson missed Clover so much lately. He missed his friends, he missed Malerie, he missed the populars and his principal, his missed his parents and grandma. He could picture his depressed mom, Sheryl, sat alone in the corner of the living room at midnight, drinking bottles of wine or consuming antidepressant that her doctor/crush gave. Maybe this was the right time for the whole town to know that he was lying all this time. He wanted to tell the truth that Carson Phillips was still alive and healthy. Maybe choosing to go home wasn't so bad at all.

Early in the morning, Carson packed his bag and left the motel. He drove his Carvair to the driveway. He walked through the journey all over again, but this time he had one destination and that destination was home. Along the deserted driveway, Carson drowned into his own deep thought.

_If I didn't get struck by lightning, make a stupid decision to walk across the country and stop by Lima, this wouldn't happen to me. _

_I know people don't like me because I always look forward to my dream other than most students at my school, but that doesn't mean I can't pursue my dream._

_And do you know what is my biggest mistake that I've done? Being in love. It was not in my plan to be in love with someone so much, it hurts. I should have stuck to my first plan; New Yorker first, Love next. I promise to myself not to be in a romantic relationship with someone until I am ready and I have pursued my career._

_But the thing is, how can I forget the person that I deeply love when the only thing that comes across my mind is her face?_

_Stars, how could you do this to me?_

_Your face, your smile, it's like a toxic that poisons me and put me into your deadly charm. Everything reminds me of you—school, glee club, even rain and biology lab remind me of you._

_Well, some people say if you can't forget about your ex that you really don't want to remember, just go find another one. My true love are writing and journalistic. If I want to forget my relationship with Starla, I can create another relationship with literature—And I can assure our relationship will be based on honesty and pure love._

Carson turned on the radio to fulfill his emptiness and to stop him from listening to himself. Michael jackson's "Give into me" was on the radio. It was a song about a girl who hurt a guy. It was such a heartbreaking song and perfectly fit to what Carson felt. Without hesitation, Carson sang along through the song. He let all his feeling out, he tried to let out all his pain and regret.

_She Always Takes It With A Heart Of Stone_

_'Cause All She Does Is Throw It Back To Me_

_I've Spent A Lifetime _

_Looking For Someone_

_Don't Try To Understand Me_

_Just Simply Do The _

_Things I Say_

Through every lyric of the song, Carson tried to remember the memories he had with Starla. The happy, sad memories they had, Carson rebuilt it into a simple montage. _I know I shouldn't think about this,_ Carson said to himself. To release the pain that drove him crazy, Carson belted out the chorus part.

_Love Is A Feeling_

_Give It When I Want It_

_'Cause I'm On Fire_

_Quench My Desire_

_Give It When I Want It_

_Talk To Me Woman_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

Carson's imagination flew away to a simple scene he made up in his head. _What if I sang this song to her?_ That was a simple question that led him to his imagination. He was on McKinley High hallway. He saw Starla was talking with some girl friends and laughed innocently. It looked like nothing happened to both of them. Carson walked to her. As Carson sang the second verse behind her, Starla didn't notice his appearance. It was just an illusion, both Carson and Starla were never in the same place like what Carson imagined.

_You Always Knew Just How To Make Me Cry_

_And Never Did I Ask You Questions Why_

_It Seems You Get Your Kicks From Hurting Me_

_Don't Try To Understand Me_

_Because Your Words Just Aren't Enough_

_Love Is A Feeling_

_Quench My Desire_

_Give It When I Want It_

_Takin' Me Higher_

_Love Is A Woman_

_I Don't Wanna Hear It_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

Carson was in the middle of the choir room, singing the song to the whole glee club. It was a part of his imagination, where he could directly sing the song to Starla.

Starla was sitting on the front row. Her eyes were swollen and teary. She knew the song was meant for her. She knew how hurt Carson felt. She knew the pain that undermined his body. She knew there was no way to fix what had happened to both of them. And both Carson and Starla knew this thing never happened—it was just a hazy imagination.

_You And Your Friends_

_Were Laughing At Me In Town_

_But It's Okay_

_And It's Okay_

_You Won't Be Laughing Girl_

_When I'm Not Around_

_I'll Be Okay_

_And I'll, I'll Not Find_

_Gotta, The Peace Of Mind No_

_Don't Try To Tell Me _

_Because Your Words _

_Just Aren't Enough_

_Love Is A Feeling_

_Quench My Desire_

_Give It When I Want It_

_Takin' Me Higher _

_Talk To Me Woman_

_Love Is A Feeling_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

Carson was in the empty auditorium. He sang the song and tried to release his anger. Starla was secretly watching him singing, sobbing by the corner entrance of the auditorium. The more Carson channeled his pain and rage, the more hurtful Starla felt on her chest. Every scream, every belted out tune Carson sang, Starla's tears flew down her cheeks.

_Love Is A Feeling_

_I Don't Wanna Hear It_

_Quench My Desire_

_Takin' Me Higher_

_Tell It To The Preacher_

_Satisfy The Feeling_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

_I Don't Wanna_

_I Don't Wanna_

_I Don't Wanna_

_Hear It_

_Give It To The Fire_

_Talk To Me Woman_

_Quench My Desire_

_I Don't Like A Lady_

_Talk To Me Baby_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To The Fire_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

_Love Is A Woman_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

_Give In To Me_

Starla couldn't take it much longer. She got out of the auditorium, left Carson alone in his fantasy.

_'Cause I'm On Fire_

_Talk To Me Woman_

_Quench My Desire_

_Give It To The Feeling _

As the song reached the end, the red curtain in the auditorium was closed and the spotlight was off. Carson was back to the reality, facing the road alone, having his eyes glistened with tears, and driving away until he could arrive in Clover.

* * *

For Starla, McKinley High School was empty without Carson. She had never been this lonely since forever. Nobody could replace Carson in her heart—not even the New Directions kids could fix her missing puzzle piece. She tried to phone Carson a few times, but he never picked up his phone._ Is he really that mad at me? _Starla's mind was scrambled. Every time she pressed Carson's number on the phone and called him, it always ended up with,

_Hi, you've reached Carson. Leave a message._

And she received no answer.

Starla tried to call Carson for the fifth times in the choir room.

"_Beep, beep, beep,_" Starla waited in anticipation.

"Hi, you've reached Carson. Leave a message—_beep_,"

"—Hey, Carson. It's me, Starla. Listen, I know you don't want to talk to me because of what I did to you and I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry because I lied to you, I'm sorry because I hurt your feeling, I'm sorry for everything. I know you've gone to Clover because I checked on your motel first thing in the morning and you weren't there, so I hope you could make it safely," Starla exhaled, she had to encourage herself to talk more. It was a 50:50 percent chance for Carson to listen to her voice mail. She would be happy if Carson listened her mail, but it was his decision for him to delete the message—Starla couldn't do anything for that.

"Carson, I might not be your best girlfriend, but we were best friends. And my only advice that I can give to my best friend is_ don't lose your hopes and dreams._ You can't back down. Maybe you're on your way to Clover, but later when you're finished high school _you have to continue your way to Illinois and better—to New York," _Fingers crossed for Carson to hear Starla's advice. "Well, that's all I can say to you. I'm afraid if I talk longer, you will get bored and sick of my voice. Bye." Starla pressed the red button and locked her phone. She threw her phone to her bag on the bottom of the piano.

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Starla's mind. She had a perfect song to describe her feeling and pain. She opened the top of the piano and placed her pretty fingers between the keyboard and started to play the intro.

_I always needed time on my own_

_I never thought I'd need you there when I cry_

_And the days feel like years when I'm alone_

_And the bed where you lie is made up on your side_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_

_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_The words I need to hear to always get me through_

_The day and make it ok_

_I miss you_

Starla's version of Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" was softer and less rock than the original one. She sang truly from her heart, showing all her fragile side and how much she missed Carson—even if they hadn't met for a day. _But, what if we never met forever? _Starla's eyes began to crystal with tears.

_I've never felt this way before_

_Everything that I do reminds me of you_

_And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor_

_And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_

_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_And when you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_And when you're gone_

_The words I need to hear to always get me through_

_The day and make it ok_

_I miss you_

As the song came to its bridge, Starla's voice got more powerful than ever. The way she sang represented what she was feeling at the moment—the distress that was locked in her heart. Now, it was time for her to open the key and let the ache out—and by singing was one of the great choices to give it out.

_We were made for each other_

_Out here forever_

_I know we were, yeah_

_And all I ever wanted was for you to know_

_Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul_

_I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah_

Starla's imagination flew around as she sang the song. The only wish she had in mind was having Carson beside her. She wanted so bad, she imagined herself singing to him. His shadow appeared beside her, guiding her to every song. He leaned closer to Starla, touched her hands and gently played the piano together with him. It was still romantic, although Carson's presence was unreal.

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_And when you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_And when you're gone_

_All the words I need to hear will always get me through_

_The day and make it ok_

_I miss you_

As Starla finished the song, Starla's eyes were gleaming. Carson's shadow suddenly gone with the wind, like dust. _Carson, I miss you. If I had one wish, I wish you were right here beside me—led my hand on the keyboard, guiding me through every melody._

* * *

Carson had arrived in Clover. He stopped by a small suburbian house and parked his red car on the lawn. He walked to the entrance and knocked at the door.

_Knock, knock, knock._

A few moments later, the wooden door opened. A middle-age woman with curly brunette hair opened the door. She was wearing a shabby t-shirt under a brown blanket. Her messy look got worse when she held a bottle of alcohol. Just as the woman saw Carson by the door, she stood in silence. She thought she was seeing a ghost. Her eyes popped and her hand froze, holding the half-opened door. Carson, who was facing the woman, just smirked at her. He already predicted this would happen to him.

_"Hi, mom."_, Carson said, innocently.

The old woman was Sheryl Phillips, Carson's mom. She was surprised to see her son who she thought had already died. Without saying a word, Sheryl came closer to her son, touched every single Carson's body—hand, face, chest—to make sure that he was real and alive. The woman couldn't say a word because she was too shocked. Her body trembled as she realized that her son was real, standing in front of her.

The woman opened the door wide and let Carson in. The house was not changed since the first time Carson casted away from the house. The furniture, the pillows, the curtains, everything was the same—except for the more pill bottles that were lying empty on the floor. "Mom, you're taking this much of medication?" Said Carson, picking up the bottles and put them in the trashcan. Sheryl didn't say anything, she just sat on the couch, sipping her drink, staring at his son who was going here and there, back and forth, to clean up the house. As soon as Carson realized his mom didn't answer his question, he stood still right beside her—with two pillows on both hands—and asked, "Mom, why didn't you answer me? It's not like I'm a ghost or something, I'm alive, see?" Carson pointed on his body, who was still functioned perfectly. Carson sighed. _Mom, why don't you talk to me or something_?

Carson sat on the couch in front of his mother. "Mom, I'm alive, look at me." Carson glared at his mother, concerned. Sheryl just ignored his son and continued sipping her drink, then lighted up a cigarette. She smoked the cigarette, enjoying every single smoke that came out from her mouth. Carson sighed, _this is not working. _He regretted his decision to come home. If he came home and everybody ignored him, might as well just kept driving to Illinois instead.

Carson waited for her mom to finish smoking her cigarette patiently. Right after Sheryl crushed her cigarette on the ashtray, Carson asked her a question. "Why are you doing this?" The young man said. Sheryl stared at her son, getting annoyed by the questions his son bombarded her.

_"You thought you could get away from life, huh?" _Sheryl finally said a word to Carson. She answered Carson's confusing question with another confusing question, trying to make Carson uncomfortable. Carson gulped and shrugged, "I guess, yes." His answer was doubtful and his voice was not as cheerful as he usually was. "And you thought by running away from clover could make you escape from this scary world?" Sheryl's voice got even louder, feeling the silence in the neighborhood, until she yelled, "WELL, YOU CAN'T, CARSON!" Sheryl stooped her body and faced Carson, who was having chills because of his mother's yell.

After the situation calmed down, Sheryl sat back on the couch and exhaled heavily. She took a few sip from her drink and spoke, "Where have you been?" "Lima, Ohio. I was going to go to Illinois then New York, but I realized that if you wanted to go to Northwestern and work in a fine newspaper in NYC, you have to finish your high school," Carson explained. "So, I stopped by Ohio, stayed in a motel, found a public high school nearby," he paused and scratched his nose, then continued, "And I had some problem, trust me you don't want to know, then decided to get back." Sheryl puckered her lips, _thank God he didn't join a cult and went black._

The conversation got weirder and Carson really didn't know what to say to his mom. He decided to take his satchel bag and drove away to the nursing home where his grandma was staying. "Where are you going?" Sheryl shouted, as his son took his way to the door. "Going to see grandma." Carson shouted back.

_"She's dead, Carson."_

Between disbelieved and confused, Carson closed the door back and stood for a moment. _Grandma? Died? She died? Why does this have to be so soon? _Carson's body trembled. His mouth wanted to say something, but his lips were sealed. Tears started to fell down to Carson's cheeks while he was thinking about his grandmother's face. _That sweet, loving, ginger-curly haired, forgetful grandmother, she's gone._ "How?" Carson asked in disbelief. Sheryl, who was lying on the couch, answered, "She died of a heart attack a few days after your missing. She missed you so bad, that she couldn't stop thinking about you." _Grandma, I miss you too,_ Carson bumped his head on the wall and cried. He lost the one that he loved—the one that loved to hear his story, the one that didn't mind to listen to his happiness and sorrow even though she always forgot that Carson was her grandson. Grandma Phillips suffered from a severe alzhemeir that she didn't remember most of things. Every time Carson came to visit, she always told stories about her grandson without realizing that she told it to her own one and only grandson.

If Grandma Phillips didn't die, Carson would go straight to the nursing home and went into her room. "Morning, grandma." Carson put his bag on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. Grandma Phillips slept on her bed and looked at the boy who kept smiling at her. She had a wonderful young man who always came to visit but she couldn't figure out who he was, that broke Grandma's heart a bit. "I miss my grandson," grandma Phillips glanced at Carson sorrowfully. If she didn't died, she would still think Carson was dead. "He died of a lightning, it really breaks my heart. I wish I could see his happy face for once before he dies, but it's too late. I even have a special gift for him that I don't get a chance to give it to him," grandma Phillips was struggling to fetch a special knit from the bedside table, until Carson helped her taking it. "What is it?" Carson asked softly. "It's a scarf-blanket. I made it blue because it was his favorite color. But, I didn't have a chance to see him wearing this." Grandma Phillips said, holding a perfectly-knitted blue scarf-blanket. The color was sky blue, just like the color of Carson's shirt that he was wearing. Grandma gave the scarf-blanket to Carson to give him a chance for a close up look. "It's beautiful," Carson complimented, painting a smile on his face. "Do you mind if I try it on?" Then, Carson draped the scarf on his neck. It looked so good and matched his clothes. There was no worry for Carson when it was winter and he needed a scarf to warm him up. "I love it, grandma. Thank you." "Well, my grandson will love the scarf even more." She didn't remember her grandson was sitting right next to her, but Carson didn't mind because he always got that all the time.

Carson sighed. He didn't know any way to convince his grandma that her grandson was alive and talking to her at the moment. Carson stroked his grandma's shoulder and said, "Granny, I'm here. I'm your grandson and he's perfectly alive." it was hopeless. Grandma Phillips seemed not paying attention to what Carson said to her. She glared blankly at her grandson and said, "You are not my grandson. He's always happy and smiling. He never shows me sadness. He's the sunshine to my rain. But, now the cloud comes and storm destroys everything, and my sunshine never shows up again." For an elder, grandma Phillips was quite a poetic person—guess the genetic train never stopped. The more Carson imagined his green eyes met his grandma's sparkly blue eyes, the more he missed his grandma so much that he couldn't describe how much guilt he felt and regret he had. Carson wished everything worked out the way he imagined it to be.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: It's prom! dum dum dum ~ but, Carson and Starla has gone their own ways. What will happen next? I won't spoil the good things inside, just let the story speaks for itself :)_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 7**

Weeks and weeks had passed by in McKinley High School, prom and graduation had come to a close. Everybody was busy preparing for end of semester tests, prom dresses, even farewell party made on their own. Glee club was also busy preparing the songs to perform on prom, which was just a week away.

Glee club performed on prom night annually because Principal Figgins couldn't afford a famous band to perform on the school dance. Glee club was the only vocal group that loved to perform free in charge. Principal Figgins usually asked them to perform in the annual pep rally too—but it never turned good.

This year's prom was going to be epic. The prom committee had decided a theme for prom, which was _Time Travel._ It was inspired by Back to the Future and Brittany's attempt in making a time machine. One of the prom's committee, Marley, had revealed the decoration would be a collection of eras. The school gym would be devided into 3 sections—vintage, retro, and modern time. For vintage section, the team had decided to decorate 1/3 of the gym with accessories that were inspired by the year 1900 until the 50's. The school band would play on a 1950's style stage, complete with vintage white tuxedos and Elvis hairstyle. In retro section, they would put the photography stand where the students could take a picture with a time machine replica. They would also have a mini games arcade filled with 80's games where the geeks and nerds could have their own fun even though they didn't have a plus one. In modern section, there was a special glass box where the crowns for prom king and queen would be displayed. The box would be sealed firmly, so no one could take it. The buffet section would be placed between the vintage and retro section. A collection of diner food would be served on a long rectangular white table, including chocolate fountain, ice cream, cupcakes, and milkshake. The committee had worked on this stuff for half of the semester, hopefully the prom would run well and become the best night in their last year.

"So, anyone has an idea for this year's prom?" Mr. Schuester encouraged the kids in glee club to come up with ideas for their _prom_formance. Marley accompanied Mr. Schue to explain about the prom team. She might be a sophomore, but her coordinating ability was undeniable. And by becoming one of the committees was an advantage for Marley to join the prom. For prom, she got many requests from the boys at school, but her heart could only choose Jake as her date. Marley could imagine him holding her hands with dancing through a lovely lullaby. She rested her head on Jake's broad shoulder and they never stopped laughing because the random jokes about prom and how people danced so funny that Jake threw at her.

The glee clubbers were in a unison silence—No idea, no clue. Last year, the glee studs—Artie, Sam, Joe, Blaine—could come up with tons of ideas that every time they snapped their fingers, a hot dance anthem just came up inside their heads. _This is not going to work out,_ Mr. Schue was pessimistic. "Hey, Artie, since this year is all about time travelling, do you have some swinging oldies or jammin' old skool hip hop songs that you want to sing?" Mr. Schue asked Artie, who was hiding his face with his palm right when Mr. Schue shook his hips to draw his attention. "I—I'm sorry Mr. Schue, I don't think I have a song to sing on prom. I really want to sing on prom, but there is no song title that comes across my mind right now." Artie said and shrugged. Mr. Schue sighed desperately. "What about the girls? The girls always have fresh ideas and hit the stage with their sexy feminism. Now it's time to show what you got, girls!" Mr. Schue was optimistic about the girls because they always had the good ideas, and since it was prom and dance and dresses, the girls must be really excited about this. "I think I have a song to sing on prom," just like a sun that shined the cloudy discussion, Starla came out with a fresh idea. "Since it's going to be my first and last prom in high school, I must say I get really excited that I already prepare a song since the first day I join the glee club." "Great, let's here it!" Mr. Schue gestured the girl to sing in the middle of the choir room, but the girl refused. "Nah-uh, Mr. Schue. It's a surprise," Said the girl with her cheerful 1000 watt smile. Starla continued, "But, I'll be singing 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' by Cyndi Lauper. I kinda change the arrangement and so, and actually it sounds more like the Miley Cyrus' version. It's about girls who want to have fun by their own, just be free and enjoy life. I guarantee I won't have a date to the prom, but through that song I want to say _who the hell cares? _We can have fun by ourselves without companion and just be ourselves." "Mr. Schue? I'm on Starla's side on this one. I'm positive I won't have a date too, but who cares? And, can other girls sing the song too?" Sugar agreed. Mr. Schue smiled wisely, but it was Starla who answered it. "Sounds like fun!" The girls clapped their hands and cheers echoed all over the room. "Now, the girls have their anthem. What about the boys? Do you want to just sit in the corner while the girls are singing the song?" Mr. Schue asked the boys who seemed didn't care about what the girls were going to sing. "We'll discuss that later, Mr. Schue, don't worry. I won't let those cheetahs to take over when the lions are still conquering the jungle." Blaine replied. _"That's the spirit!"_

* * *

_How can I sing a song about the spirit of being single and indepent when I have a boy stuck in my head?_

_Carson, why do you not return my call? Why do you have to leave so soon? why do you have to make me feel so guilty? _

_Those questions are like smoke in my brain, and Carson is the weed. It is so addictive to think about you. I know we're miles apart, I know you don't want to see me again, but I want to see you. I wish you were still here, so we could go to prom together._

_Now, without you, I'm soulless. I can't choose a date to accompany me to prom because all I can think of is Carson's eyes, Carson's face, Carson's lips. I just want him to be a part of my last weeks in McKinley. Just once, I want him to guide me on the dance floor. I want to give all my body and soul to him and dance through the symphony together. Why is it so hard?_

_But, maybe if I called Carson once more, would he answer me?_

Starla tried to call Carson once again, this time she called him in an empty classroom. "Hey, Carson. I'm sorry if I call you again. Maybe you don't want to hear my voice again, but this time I really need your help," Starla said to Carson's voice mail. "Prom is coming up and I was wondering if you could come back here and be my date?" Starla sighed, _I'm such a demanding person. _"Girls don't usually ask boys to prom, but how do you know I really want to go to prom with you if I don't ask it myself? And if you don't want to go with me, that's okay. I understand, crystal clear," Starla wiped her tears off her face. She hadn't stopped crying about Carson for days. She wasn't supposed to cry about boys, but she really missed him. "Well, that's all. I hope you could reply me soon. Bye." Starla hung up the phone and started to wipe all her tears until there was nothing left, then got out of the classroom.

Carson was back to his usual life in Clover. He went back to his old Clover High School, he lived with his mother, he also had a part-time job in a diner since there was no more nursing home to be visited in the afternoon. He guessed things went back to normal, but clearly it got worse. Carson was teased by the whole school. Every time he walked through the hallway, he heard voices and words that were addressed to him. "Look at this, it's the hypocrite. How's hell? Oh wait, you didn't get there because you were still alive." The words were hurtful. Besides the people who didn't like Carson's existence, there were some people who were glad to see Carson again—including Malerie. She was so excited to meet Carson, she decorated the journalism classroom with 'Welcome Back' banners and ribbons. Carson felt like he was home. Journalism classroom was pretty much where Carson had spent most of his time. He missed the blackboard, he missed the copy machine, he missed his partner in crime. "How's Illinois?" Malerie asked him while waiting for other kids to gather for the newspaper editors meeting. "I didn't get there. I stopped by Lima." Carson replied, disappointed. Every time she saw her best friend got really frustrated, her heart broke into pieces. She tapped Carson's shoulder and said, "Aww, too bad. What did you do in Lima?" "I went to a school there, had a new life, made another literally magazine, got dirts on most of the kids there, joined a choir, got a girl who turned out to be Claire's minion." Carson explained his whole life in Lima. "Another literally magazine?" Malerie was surprised, she couldn't help herself from reading Carson's new magazine. "Yeah, I guess I have a copy here." Carson shoved his bag and took a copy of his magazine, then gave it to Malerie. She examined the magazine and impressed, "This is really good. Have you sent a copy to Northwestern?" "Yup, but they haven't responded it. My fingers are still crossed, though." Carson didn't stop trying to get into the college of his dream. Even though there was a huge storm or a tsunami the size of New York, he didn't give up. "And, you joined a choir?" Malerie's eyes widened out "You sing?" Carson pounted and said, "Yeah, I did, but I'm not quite a good singer. I just—a friend, yeah, she asked me to join the choir and they said I looked like one of the graduates, so I got in." "A friend—a _she_ friend." Malerie smiled mischievously. Every time Malerie heard Carson with a girl, her eyes popped and her ears perked because he never had a very serious relationship with a girl. The longest period Carson ever had a crush on a girl was a week with a pretty librarian at his middle school. They sent letters anonymously, until the woman realized that an eight grader was the one who sent her poems and bouquets of flowers. Carson rolled his eyes and whimpered, "Yeah, but not for long. She turned out to be a traitor and Claire used her to spy on me because she is that bitch's cousin." Malerie felt sorry for Carson. "I wish I was there with you, so I could kick her butt off my bestie," Malerie joked, which made Carson giggled a little. "Is she pretty?" Carson went silent. Just soon after Malerie asked him about the girl, suddenly Carson's mind drew a picture of Starla inside his head. The photograph was so detail that every inch of Starla's face was painted in Carson's brain. He could imagine her luscious lips, her sparkling eyes, and her wavy brunette hair. He couldn't forget Starla's soft hands and her cute laugh. She might not be the most perfect human being, but for Carson she was. Carson nodded, "Yeah, yes she is." He couldn't hide his blushful smile. He was still in love with Starla. His mouth said hate, but his heart couldn't help saying love. Malerie was happy that her best friend was happy. "If she is pretty, why did you leave her?" Like a shy puppy, Carson answered the question. "I don't know, I just hated her so much for playing with my heart." Malerie tilted her head and her eyes gleamed when she saw Carson acted really funny because he was madly in love. "Do you want to meet her again?" Malerie asked again. In that moment, Carson drowned in a deep thought. "I really want to meet her again, but what if she broke my heart again?" Carson asked back. He held his head down and covered his face with his arm. "She won't, okay? Trust me. I don't know who she is, but she seems like a nice girl because she can make you this crazy for her." Malerie gave Carson a warm smile. Carson held his head high again and smirked, "I guess you're right. Thank you." Malerie was a goofy girl. She could do funny things, even the situation was really serious. She kissed her right hand and threw it high like she was in her own concert, waving seductively at her die-hard fans. Carson felt relieved that he had a best friend that really cared about him and always gave him great advices.

Since he arrived in Clover, Carson never touched his cellphone. He kept it inside his bedside drawer and he put it on silent. After his tiring day at school, he took his time to go home before going to the diner where he worked and took his handphone. Carson took a seat on his desk where he usually typed his work. His desk faced a big window that had a good scenery of the neighborhood. Every time he got bored or tried to find an inspiration, he usually stared at the window to find any unusual event on the street. After that, Carson unlocked his phone.

_0 message, 0 missed call_

_Guess everybody really believed I was dead,_ Carson thought.

Then, he checked on his voice mail. _You have two voice mails._ Carson's eyes widened. "Who sent me voice mails?" He said to himself. Then, Carson listened to the voice mails that were meant to him.

_"Hey, Carson. It's me, Starla. Listen, I know you don't want to talk to me because of what I did to you and I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry because I lied to you, I'm sorry because I hurt your feeling, I'm sorry for everything. I know you've gone to Clover because I checked on your motel first thing in the morning and you weren't there, so I hope you could make it safely. Carson, I might not be your best girlfriend, but we were best friends. And my only advice that I can give to my best friend is don't lose your hopes and dreams. You can't back down. Maybe you're on your way to Clover, but later when you're finished high school you have to continue your way to Illinois and better—to New York. Well, that's all I can say to you. I'm afraid if I talk longer, you will get bored and sick of my voice. Bye."_

The voice mail was from Starla. Carson didn't believe it was her. He kept putting his phone on his ear, even though the voice mail was over 2 minutes ago. Carson couldn't deny how he missed the girl so much. He wished it was not just a voice mail, he wished it was her—in real figure, sitting beside him. Carson couldn't be angry at her. He tried, but his heart always said _you love her._ Suddenly, Carson was suffocated because of the pain that held the oxygen to run down his body. His chest hurt, his eyes became really hot and tears that he tried to hold for days ran down again. But, it was not for long. Carson wiped his tears and reminded himself, _you're a big boy. Big boys don't cry._

Then, Carson listened to the next voice mail.

_"Hey, Carson. I'm sorry if I call you again. Maybe you don't want to hear my voice again, but this time I really need your help. Prom is coming up and I was wondering if you could come back here and be my date? Girls don't usually ask boys to prom, but how do you know I really want to go to prom with you if I don't ask it myself? And if you don't want to go with me, that's okay. I understand, crystal clear. Well, that's all. I hope you could reply me soon. Bye."_

It was another voice mail from Starla. She asked Carson to go to McKinley High's prom with her. The tears Carson tried to hold flew down again like the Niagara. Going to the prom with Starla was on the top 3 of Carson's dreams—_Northwestern, the New Yorker, Prom._ Carson couldn't say no to that. The boy realized that there was no use in hating each other when the truth was they were in love. Carson thought maybe a little trip to Lima wasn't so bad at all. He didn't plan to stay there again, but he wanted to accompany Starla to the school dance. Cinderella needed her Prince Charming and that was what Starla going to get in the night to remember. Carson also decided to keep his Lima comeback a surprise, so he wouldn't tell Starla about his plan until he finally got there.

_Tick-tock, now it's time to find a perfect tux because Prince Charming won't look so charming without his suit._

* * *

Starla applied her makeup in her room. She faced the mirror and gently swept her soft pink blush-on on her cheeks. Then, she took her natural pink lip gloss and painted her lips with it. She tried to look as natural and simple as possible on prom, so everyone wouldn't think she was being too much on her makeup. Yup, prom had finally come, and Starla was ready for it—_with or without Carson_. Carson hadn't returned her call, so she assumed that the boy had forgotten her. Starla had to be strong, even though Carson wasn't going to be her date. She didn't mind to have herself hunted down all the food on the buffet. She didn't mind to sit with other single girls, at least she knew how prom was like before she graduated. She didn't mind to dance alone, as long as she enjoyed the music and had fun. She didn't mind at all.

"Starla, your car has arrived!" Starla's mom called her from downstairs. She didn't have a date, but she still had to keep herself classy when she stepped into the gym. A few days ago, Starla decided to go to the prom with Sugar. Sugar rented a fancy limo for both of them, so when they made their way into the school all boys wouldn't keep their eyes off them and could consider them as their dates—Starla doubted the last part, but she thought _why not?_

Starla got out of her room and walked down the stairs. She walked majestically like a princess who entered a ball. Starla wore a knee-long blue dress with cute sparkly blings and glittery tulle. She had her black hair curled and she put a pretty white rose vintage hair piece which made it lovelier. Starla wore a pair of shiny blue heels, which similar to Cinderella's shoes—but it was not made of magical glass. Starla looked definitely like a star for prom. "Honey, don't you have a date to the prom?" Asked Starla's mom, who suddenly made Starla's spirit down a little. Starla shook her head and replied, "No. I've tried to call him, but I think he doesn't want to go with me. Besides, I can enjoy the prom myself without a date." Starla winked at her mother optimistically. She didn't want to show her mother that she was going to be a sad lonely single girl in the corner of the gym. "Whatever you say, sweetie." Starla's mom tapped her shoulder and let the girl go. As the limo drove fast to the prom, Starla couldn't wait to see the full moon that she saw along the road turned into a disco ball in the middle of the dance floor.

_Your kisses lift me higher_

_Like the sweet song of a choir_

_You light my morning sky_

_With burning love_

As both Starla and Sugar entered the gym, Elvis' 1972 hit 'Burning Love' was played by the band. Blaine Anderson took the standing mic and swaying his hips along the song. Matching to the band, Blaine wore a white suit with black pants and he looked very dashing with his gelled hair as usual. He sang the song really good and entertained all prom people. All students enjoyed the song and danced along the song together with their partners. The students wore various kinds of clothes—the boys wore standard tuxedos, on the other hand some girls wore vintage dresses and some others wore princessy dresses—but all of them joined the ball for one thing; having fun.

Starla gathered with Sugar, Marley, Unique, Tina, and Brittany for their biggest performance. They were going to sing 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' right after the DJ played some modern dance tunes. They got ready on the backstage. They didn't change their clothes into similar dresses because they thought diversity was good. They practiced the dance routine and the song backstage, last minutes before they performed.

_"Now, let's hear it froooom the girls!"_ The student host presented the glee club girls and Unique. "It's now or never." Starla said, putting out her hand for a toss. They girls and Unique followed, and Starla instructed, "Amazing on three, 1, 2, 3~"

_"AMAZING!"_

The girls walked up to the stage and got ready on their position. Sugar, Marley, Unique, Tina, and Brittany stood in one line while Starla was taking a red electric guitar and harmonized its strings with Artie and Sam who was going to play the song with the band. Without hesitation, Starla played the intro with her guitar.

Right after the intro, Starla took a standing mic, slung the guitar to her back and sang the first verse loudly. She gave all her spirit and energy to the song because it was all about having fun.

_I come home in the morning light_

_My mother says when you gonna live your life right_

_Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones_

_And girls they want to have fun_

_Oh girls just want to have fun_

Starla strummed her guitar excitedly for a solo.

_The phone rings in the middle of the night_

_My father yells what you gonna do with your life_

_Oh daddy dear you know you're still number one_

_But girls they want to have fun_

_Oh girls just want to have_

Starla joined the line of girls and started to dance in one line. The coreography was similar, synchronized, and beautiful. Together with Starla, the other girls sang the chorus.

_That's all they really want _

_Some fun_

_When the working day is done_

_Girls - they want to have fun_

_Oh girls just want to have fun_

Starla, Artie, and Sam played the solo guitar part in trio. Starla sang through the standing mic near them, getting flirtatious with the boys.

_Some boys take a beautiful girl_

_And hide her away from the rest of the world_

_I want to be the one to walk in the sun_

_Oh girls they want to have fun_

_Oh girls just want to have _

As the girls danced on the background, Starla enjoyed the pleasing crowd by taking the microphone off the stand and jumped around while singing the chorus. The students seemed to like her performance.

_That's all they really want_

_Some fun_

_When the working day is done_

_Girls - they want to have fun_

_Oh girls just want to have fun,_

_They want to have fun,_

_They want to have fun... _

_Just want, they just want_

_They just want, they just want_

When Starla was about to sling back her guitar and play it for her solo, she saw a familiar silhouette was watching her perform in front of the stage. He blended in with the crowd, but Starla could see him standing out and shine. _OMG, OMG, he's here!_ Starla couldn't bear her happiness. She closed her eyes and opened it as if she was mistaken, but the man was still standing there. He wore a nice black tux with a pink rose and a white handkerchief in his pocket. His brown hair was always perfectly done and his face didn't look like he spent nights and nights at school alone, editing a magazine. Yup, Carson Phillips went to the prom to meet the girl of his life.

_That's all they really want_

_Some fun_

_When the working day is done_

_Girls - they want to have fun_

_Oh girls just want to have fun,_

_They want to have fun,_

_They want to have fun... _

_When the working _

_When the working day is done_

_Oh, girls - they want to have fun..._

A beat of the drum and a rocking guitar strum ended the song perfectly. The crowds cheered, as if they saw the best performance in a concert. The girls really showed their power and proved that they were not just a bunch of weak girls with sad lives and lonely in prom—although some of them had their own dates.

As soon as the performance was done, Starla jumped down the stage excitedly and rushed to approach Carson. Carson caught her hand and dramatically twirled the girl's body around, letting her skirt flared beautifully. They both laughed together, like it was a scene in drama movies.

_"I thought you wouldn't come."_ Starla said.

_"I thought I wouldn't see you again."_ Carson replied.

As the DJ played the remix version of Ke$ha's 'Die Young', Starla and Carson had a casual conversation between the crowd who were enjoying the dance anthem like no tomorrow. "So, how's Clover? It must've been pretty messed up after your run." Starla asked. "No, actually Clover is as icky as ever. The whole town calls me a liar, the lesson gets even harder, and life gets rougher," Carson raised his eyebrow like it was no big deal. "And my grandma died, that makes my life in Clover becomes more useless. I used to spend my after school reading stories or listening to her complains. But, now I have to spend my time, raising money for life, serving cheese burgers and cleaning pukes from bad burritos in a restaurant." Starla, who was listening to Carson's experience, felt sorry for his loss. She wished she didn't ask him to go back to Lima, so the boy could spend his time trying to recover from his grandma's death. "I'm so sorry." Starla tapped Carson's shoulder and her eyes started to be teary. If Starla's grandmother died, she would be very devastated. Carson was a tough man, he had been through so many things in his life—divorce, rejection, bully, death—but he kept smiling. She was glad to meet a man who became an inspiration for her. "That's okay, I've had so much pain inside my heart, the pain has changed into support to get up and survive." Carson waved his hand.

Starla really wanted to drive this chat to a serious road. She cleared her throat, braced herself, then said, "Speaking of pain, missing you kills me," she glared at Carson and trying to transfer everything she felt to him, so he would know how much she missed him. "I was trying to help my cousin, that's all. And by the way she told me about you, you were like a pain in the ass. Asshole. Giant ball of bullshit. I just—I wanted to know who the guy was, so I just spied on you and pretended to like you. And after days and days of spending time together, I thought you were cool." Starla didn't want another misunderstanding happened again. She wanted her Carson back and all she had to do was explaining the truth. _"Cool?"_ Carson doubted Starla's story. _She thinks I'm just cool? _"You think I'm cool? How about..." Carson circled around Starla's body, trying to make fool of her. _"Handsome, charming, smart, sneaky, badass fucker?" _Starla hit Carson's arm hard and said, _"God, you wish!"_ Then, they laughed again. They never joked around since forever and they finally could laugh together uncontrollably.

Starla couldn't resist the feeling to tell Carson something. She took a piece of folded white paper from her purse and without saying a word, she gave it to Carson. "This to certify that Starla Blair having qualified in all respects is hereby admitted as a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Law." Starla waited in anticipation as Carson mouthed every word from the letter. "GIRL, YOU'RE ACCEPTED IN HARVARD? NO FREAKING WAY!" Carson hugged Starla tightly and congratulated on her success. "Thank you. I realize that you can pursue your dream to go to Northwestern, why can't I persue mine? So, I wrote an essay a week after our massive fight and sent it to the university. Few weeks later, boom! I got in." Starla told Carson. Carson was proud of having a friend who was as ambitious as him and really understood about his dream.

_Oh my love _

_My darling _

_I've hungered for your touch _

_A long lonely time _

_Unchained Melody, _the two lovebirds exhanged their glances. And just like the first dance Cinderella had with Prince Charming, Carson put out his hand and asked, "Can I have this dance?" He smiled seductively at Starla, which made her blushing shyly. Starla agreed, then she kept the letter back inside her purse and put her hand on top of Carson's, and let the man led her to the dance floor gently.

As they walked like two newlyweds, Carson and Starla got ready to dance. Carson put his right hand on Starla's hips and his left hand guiding Starla to waltz with him. Starla put her left hand on Carson's shoulder and her right hand holding Carson's hand. They took their step slowly, slowly, until they could dance and conquer the floor.

_And time goes by so slowly _

_And time can do so much _

_Are you still mine? _

_I need your love _

_I need your love _

_God speed your love _

_To me _

Starla and Carson swayed through the smooth melody Blaine Anderson, Jake Puckerman, and Ryder Lynn sang. They danced like they were the only people in the room. They kept staring at each other's eyes gracefully, knowing that the only person they wanted to be with was right in front of them. Under the disco ball, Starla and Carson learnt to fall again. They took small steps to feel the romance again. And through the dance, they proved that their love was not just a wind breeze—it was like antique hieroglyph writings that were carved inside their sacred love shire eternally.

_Lonely rivers flow _

_To the sea _

_To the sea _

_To the open arms _

_Of the sea _

_Lonely rivers sigh _

_"Wait for me, wait for me" _

_I'll be coming home _

_Wait for me _

Carson slipped a little compliment for Starla between the dance. "You look beautiful." Carson said, staring at how graceful Starla was when she danced through the song. "Thank you, and so are you." Starla replied. It was her first dance with a guy. She never danced hand-in-hand with a man before, especially with the man she really loved. "You know, since I'm going to Harvard and you're going to Northwestern,_ are we going to see each other again?_" Starla asked. She never had courage to ask about it until the time was right—prom, few days before graduation, few steps away from college. Starla had only one fear and that fear was facing the fact that she would never see Carson again, that they only thought their relationship was just a high school fling. _No, it was not a high school fling,_ Starla kept her hands on the table.

_Oh my love _

_My darling _

_I've hungered for your touch _

_A long lonely time _

Carson answered the question calmly, as he dropped Starla's body into his arms. "Are you kidding me? _We are_ going to see each other again. And I can assure that," he stood the girl's body up again and caught her waist tightly, then continued,"I haven't got the acceptance letter yet, but I'm positive I will get into that college. And don't worry, I will always catch a train to see you. I will do _anything_ to see you." Carson leaned closer to Starla and kissed her slowly. Their lips were touched after a very long time. Under the disco ball in a beautiful ball, they reunited again.

_And time goes by so slowly _

_And time can do so much _

_Are you still mine? _

_I need your love _

_I need your love _

_God speed your love _

_To me_

The song ended, the dance was over. It was the DJ's turn again to jam a song. The glee club boys walked down the stage and approached Starla and Carson. The girls also came close from the buffet section. "Hey! You're back!" Tina shouted from the far. The girl in volcano blue dress was the first person who hugged Carson, with other kids followed behind. They formed a huge hug pyramid, almost made Carson suffocated. "Guys, stop! I—can't—breath." Carson strangled himself from the hug without making them thinking they were annoying and laughed about it.

Brittany, who wore a very pretty swan lake look-alike dress, said, "Kurt, I miss you! How's New York?" And circled around her arm around Carson's left shoulder. First, Carson thought what Brittany said was stupid and she had the wrong person, but he already got used with it. "Dude, I suddenly miss writing since the day you left." Ryder, who finally realized that there was nothing to be hated on Carson and became nice to him, tossed his arm on Carson's another shoulder. _Yeah, finally I become someone's inspiration,_ Carson said to himself and slightly smiled. "Dude, come back to McKinley, we have lots of things to do. You know, we got a wildcard to sectionals, won regionals, and now we're going to compete in nationals! NATIONALS, BABY!" Sam Evans got so very excited about his third nationals. He shared a high-five with Jake Puckerman, who was also excited—but he didn't show it as much as Sam did. "Nah, I don't know. Technically, I was still Clover High's student since I didn't really get out of that school and I transferred to McKinley, which made me still go to both school." Carson's mind was messed up when he decided to choose which school should he go to for his graduation. But according to law, he was still Clover High's student, so he would spend the rest of his senior year in Clover.

Blaine, out of nowhere, walked hand-in-hand with a dashing guy in a fine suit. He looked charming with his peaked clean cut hazelnut-highlighted hair. He was one of the New Directions legendary Original Five. He had graduated and he was on his way to chase after his dream in the Big Apple. "Hey, guys, look who's here!" Blaine shouted, as he dragged his boyfriend, Kurt Hummel. He had reunited after several weeks in a bumpy road of romance. They had fights, they found new ones, but they couldn't get over the fact that they were meant to be together. "KURT!" The club shouted in unison. Some of the newbies didn't know who Kurt was, so they just walked to him and shook his hand. For the crews who had know the guy for a long time—Artie, Tina, Brittany, Sam, Joe, Sugar, Unique—they ran after Kurt and hugged him tight after months without seeing each other.

Everyone reacted happily after meeting Kurt. They shouted things they had done with him and exclaimed joyful cheers to the man, so the newbies knew good things about Kurt. "We used to fight bullies together!" Sam exclaimed proudly. "He used to be my unicorn! And he will always be." Brittany said while running down her finger through Kurt's hand and messing up with it. _"I'm his love child, everybody! Back off, do not ever try to mess up with my dad!"_ Unique, who believed to be Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones' love child—with addition of Andre Leon Taylley and Beyoncé as his grandparents—said, as he jokingly shooed anyone who tried to get closer to Kurt. Kurt just laughed out loud about how the kids still remembered him very well. "Of course, we still remember you, Kurt. You're a legend here. And now that you're a legend, I think it's time for me to introduce you to the next generation of New Directions." Blaine, who circled his arm around Kurt, said. "Sounds great! Let's meet them." Kurt replied excitedly. Then, both lovers walked to a group of New Directions' new members.

Kurt walked through Marley, Jake, Kitty, and Ryder. They shook hands, as the kids introduced themselves to him. "Marley," Marley shook Kurt's hand with her pearly white smile. "Kurt, it's really nice to meet you. You'll have a very good time in the New Directions." Kurt replied. "Thanks." Marley was glad to meet more graduates, since she only met Finn, Santana, Quinn, Mike, Mercedes, and Mike. Kurt walked to Jake and they shook hands. Blaine, who guided his partner to the new clubbers, introduced Jake and said, "This is Jake. Puckerman." "You're Puck's brother?" Kurt was surprised. Jake ran his hand through his hair and answered, "Half-brother, actually." Then, Kurt shook Ryder's hand and without giving a chance for Ryder to introduce himself, Kurt said, "You must be Dany Zuko from this year's musical, Grease! Great job on your potrayal, you look like young John Travolta, I must say." Ryder laughed and blushful because no one ever compared him to a mega star before. Then, Kurt moved aside and faced Kitty. _"It's you again."_ Kitty and Kurt said to each other. Kitty, who wore a pretty copy of Quinn Fabray's senior prom dress, crossed her arms and sniffed her nose irritatingly. "You finally make it to New York, huh? Finally, you can unite with _your own kind. _Good for you." Kitty shrugged sarcastically. Kurt's ears heated up when Kitty threw her offensive words at him. Kurt gulped, _this is nothing than what Karofsky did to me._ "Yes, Kitty, I'm good. And how about you? Stuck in Lima, throwing pompoms at people's faces? That must be wonderful!" Kurt blurted out his kick butt word. He didn't want to start a fight, but Kitty just irritated him. It was offensive, pretty much, and he just wanted to kick her on the face. Blaine, who saw Kurt replying Kitty's mockery, arbitrated them by pushing him away from Kitty and whispered, "Kurt, don't—just leave her alone. Kitty, stop!" Blaine threw a death stare at Kitty, who glared back menacingly.

Away from Kitty, the next person who shook hands with Kurt was Carson. He stood behind Ryder with Starla, so Kurt hadn't seen Carson's face until both boys faced each other. It was like looking at the mirror. They looked very similar, like a pair of twins that came out from the same womb—except for the fact that Kurt highlighted his hair and Carson didn't. Both Carson and Kurt were fascinated by how their faces, their eyes, their lips—_literally everything_—looked the same.

_"Wow!"_ Both exclaimed in unison.

They didn't touch each other's faces because their hands were freezing in amazement and it would be embarrassing. The other glee kids came closer to where Kurt and Carson stood, examined every detail on their bodies. "Damn, are you sure you guys are not twins?" Artie wheeled his wheelchair between the boys. He was shocked as much as other kids were. "I'm positive." Carson furrowed. "Whoa, there must be some kind of logical explanation about this." Kurt said, trying to repair his scrambled mind. "Maybe you and I were meant to be twins, then God just decided not to. Or, maybe this was just some kind of illusion and we were in different dimensions and there must be one of us who was an—_well_—unknown creature?" Carson tried to give the most reasonable explanation that came from his mind—_turned out not so reasonable._ Kurt whimpered and quickly disagreed, "I'm pretty sure that I'm a human and my human body organs are still functioned perfectly, not alien hands nor anything." Carson just smirked and raised his eyebrow slightly.

Starla was the last person who shook Kurt's hand. "And may I know who this young lady is?" Kurt asked while shaking hands with the girl. "Starla. Starla Blair." Blaine added some personal information about Starla, "She got accepted in Harvard School of Law and got the highest SAT score from all senior students." Blaine didn't want to sound too arrogant, _but it was the truth._ "Smart girl. And your Girls Just Want to Have Fun performance was fantastic! What's your real dream, sweetie?" Kurt asked again. Starla answered confidently, "I actually want to move to LA and be an actress or singer, but world of laws just fascinates me." She didn't forget to put her bright smile after speaking. Kurt smiled back because he never met a girl as ambitious as Rachel Berry before in his life.

"And which university do you want to go to and what is your dream, twinsies?" Kurt asked Carson back a question that he forgot to ask. Carson answered passionately as usual, "Northwestern. Journalism. I actually have submitted my work and I'm hoping for them to accept me. And after I graduate from college, I possibly will go to New York and apply on the New Yorker." "If you make it to New York—_which I'm positive you will_—call me or something. We could hang out together and I would guide you for a full New York experience. I miss my brother, Finn, too much and that's why we should hang out together for twins bonding time." Kurt said, as if he had listed all the things that he should do with Carson together. Carson laughed, "Yeah, I think that sounds fun." Kurt looked at Starla,_ she must be his girlfriend_, and elbowed Carson. "And you could bring your girl along," Kurt said, "Then, we could have a double date." He pulled Blaine's waist and they patched each other's foreheads romantically. "Aw, that would be romantic." Starla said, as Carson quickly pulled her waist and squeezed her.

After the prom queen and king crowning that led Kitty and an unknown football jock to be the winners—most people still doubted the vote result—it was time for the king and queen dance. The New Directions, as the special performer, took the microphones again to sing the last song of the night, Lawson's 'Learn to Love Again'. Jake and Marley sang the song and turned it into a duet. Since they were officially dating, their love was getting stronger everyday. Even though Jake's label as a bad boy and Marley's label as a sweet free-spirited chick were stuck in their bodies, but their love could sweep it away.

Jake took the first verse. He looked dashing in black suit and red tie, while Marley who was standing beside him, was wearing a red v-neck sleeveless dress with a matching lipstick and looking very breathtaking.

_There's a place we know_

_What's cold won't enough won't grow_

_we have seen the dark_

_And the darkness took its toll_

_And the journey waits for no one_

_If no one breaks the mould_

_And our hearts are stronger than we know_

Jake and Marley couldn't keep their eyes off each other. Their eyes always met every time they sang every lyric together. Kitty were enjoying the dance with her king on the dance floor, barely cared about everyone who was staring at her awkwardly. The kids of New Directions and Kurt were gathering down the stage, screaming on the _oohhh_ part excitedly.

_Oohhh_

Marley sang the chorus with the help of Jake. The kids jumped up and down through the song together, as some of them grabbed their partners—Kurt and Blaine, Sugar and Artie (Sugar sat on Artie's lap), and Carson with Starla.

_That you and I could learn to love again_

_After all this time_

_Maybe that is how I knew you were the one_

_That you could still believe in me again_

_After all our trials_

_Maybe that is how I knew you were the one?_

The song was so familiar in Carson and Starla's ears, because the lyrics were meaningful. _That you and I could learn to love again after all this time. Maybe that is how I knew you were the one. _They had been through heartbreaking moments and fights, and they finally realized that they were meant to be together at last. Carson and Starla learned to fall in love again after a very long time and they finally knew that they already had the one—_their true love._

The rest of the song went just the same. Jake took the second verse and Marley took the chorus, but they got closer and they held each other's hands romantically. Jake was also happy to know that Marley loved the corsage he had given to her before prom. They kept showing it to the crowd, as the sign that both boys and girls were madly in love.

_To awake and know we made it through the storm_

_And someone saves their sweet embrace_

_For you and you alone_

_Oohhh_

_That you and I could learn to love again_

_after all this time_

_Maybe that is how I knew you were the one_

_That you could still believe in me again_

_after all our trials_

_Maybe that is how I knew you were the one?_

Jake led Marley to the crowd. They took the mics and sang it with their friends. The bridge sounded better if they sang it together with friends. The New Directions kids and Kurt was on the center of the dance floor with Jake and Marley. Kitty and her boy was not the center of attention anymore—it was the glee club's turn. The confetti, balloons, glitters and bubble started to fly around the room. It ran down the gym like a rain full of magic.

_Oohhh_

_Silence says we remember_

_We remember_

_Two lost souls in the shadow_

_In the shadows_

_That is how I knew you were the one_

_And that is how I knew you were the one._

Prom was not complete without documentation. The prom committee had provided a special background for people to take their pictures with their dates. The decoration team had made a replica of vintage time machine, complete with its date monitor and a special lever to transport them into a certain period. All students were so excited to pose on the time machine. They made cute shots with their partners and funny poses, like pretending to drive the time machine together and so on. The New Directions kids didn't miss the chance to pose on the time machine. Blaine and Kurt made their first move to take a photograph on the time machine. They both sat on the time machine, holding the lever together with both hands, and staring at each other's eyes romantically like an old married couple. The second was Jake and Marley. They put on shocking Home Alone faces, like they were accidentally transported into the prehistoric time. Sugar set a pose with the boys—Artie, Sam, Joe, and Ryder. Sugar acted like she was transported into a _guy heaven—_another term to explain Madonna's 1984 Material Girl video style on Sugar's perspective. Brittany, Unique, and Tina took a photograph together. They thought they didn't need arm candies, since they were all sexy strong divas. The last one was Carson and Starla. They both sat on the time machine. Starla pretended to drive the time machine in full-speed while Carson was standing on the chair and pointed at nowhere, pretending that they had reached the promise land. The kids were so goofy, making the prom night became the most fun night of all.

"WOOOHOOO!" And finally, 2013 McKinley High Prom was over. Everyone was satisfied and happy. They finally had the best time of their lives and they met their soulmates that they never expected. Some of them finally reunited with their old lovers—including Carson and Starla. They finally could continue their long journey on their love desert and sewed back their silky romance.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: This will be a short chapter, since it's post-prom and pre-graduation. And plus, will Carson get into Northwestern? dum dum dum ~ Enjoy :)_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 8**

Carson went back to Clover after the fantastic prom night with Starla. He decided to come home because the home situation was still not stable after his grandmother's death and he still waited for the Northwestern acceptance letter that he addressed to the Phillips residence.

Three days had passed by and graduation was in front of Carson's face, but he hadn't received his acceptance letter. He waited in anticipation, but on the other side he doubted he could enter the university. He also applied in Clover Community College, in case he didn't get accepted in the college of his dream. The farthest thing Carson could imagine was having his acceptance letter burned by his own mother.

Sheryl always said dreams never came true, no matter how high or low it was. Carson believed he could chase his dream. He would do anything just to get into the school of his dream and work his dream job in the New Yorker. Unfortunately, no one believed Carson had the ability to do so, not even his own family. _Carson was himself_, he didn't need a person to tell him what to do, not even his parents. The only king that could rule his mind was himself. He didn't care what people thought of him—_Is he crazy? He should get into a mental institution_—he just went straight ahead and soared high to follow his heart.

Carson attended his last days in Clover High. Nothing was changed—the lesson was still boring, everyone still underestimated him and didn't appreciate everything that he did. Walking through the hallway was still the hardest thing Carson had to do. He bumped into misfit kids, had his untied shoelaces stepped by people who walked near him until he almost fell down on the way to classroom, and he couldn't bear the fact that his tiny body could flew and hit the locker just as a group of jocks made their way on the corridor.

After school, Carson went straight to his house. Everyday, every hour, he always opened his mailbox, waiting for a sealed envelope that was addressed to him, from Illinois. Carson couldn't take any longer for his acceptance letter. He wanted to know his destiny—_Northwestern or not_—whatsoever. One afternoon, Carson checked on his mailbox. He found a sealed white envelope that was addressed to his house. Carson examined the envelope, and later realized that the sender was Northwestern University, Journalism. "Holy shh—" Carson couldn't believe it. He thanked God for being the first hand that held the letter, otherwise his mother would toss it into the trashcan or burn it into ashes. Then, Carson rushed to his room to open the letter and find out about his destiny.

Carson quickly locked the door and jumped onto his bed. He unsealed the mail gently, so he wouldn't tear the letter, then opened it slowly.

_"Congratulations! The Admissions Committee has approved your application to Medill's Graduate Program in Journalism~"_

And in that moment, Carson thought he already died and flew to heaven. He was accepted to the Northwestern University. He got accepted to the college of his dream. He finally could reach his Illinois dream and he finally could go out of Clover. He didn't have to enter the community college, since he was already a student in Northwestern.

Carson was dancing all day inside his heart. But, he couldn't keep this amazing news all by himself. He had to share it with someone or two. He hadn't had the courage to tell his parents about this, so maybe the only person he could tell this news was Malerie.

_"Malerie, guess what?" _After dinner with his mom, Carson went to his room and phoned Malerie. He couldn't hide his joy and cheer of getting accepted to his dream school. "Hey, Carson. Sorry, I was washing the dishes so I didn't pick up my phone. What is it?" Malerie, in her bedroom, replied Carson's call. _"Northwestern. They accept me. Isn't that great?"_ Carson could hear his best friend jumped on her bed excitedly. Whenever they had great news to tell about, they usually reacted uber happy. "Carson, that's amazing! Congratulations! I know you can make it!" Said Malerie on the phone. "Thank you, Malerie." Carson said, smiling a hundred meters wide. "Well, I guess we won't see each other for a very long time—_again_."_ Here comes the disappointment_. Carson felt bad about leaving his best friend to fight in another land that he barely even knew, but it was all for his dream. "Baggs, chill. It's not like I'm going to stay there forever. During breaks, I promise I will come back to Clover. We can do things that we usually do—writing, chatting, anything. But in the meantime, I will send you pictures and emails." After all, Carson needed someone to share his experience with. "I guess pictures are fine," Malerie didn't mind about it. "Besides, no one can crush your dream, Carson. Not even me," Malerie, wearing pink sweatpants and matching hoodie, still sitting on her bed and enjoying her time with Carson. _"Have you told your parents yet?"_ Carson, who still had no courage to tell his parents, explained the truth, "Nope, I haven't. The thing is, I'm afraid of what they're going to say. Will they be angry or happy? No one can tell." Carson licked his lips. "I'm sure they will proud of you, Carson. I mean, come on, you get into one of the famous universities in US, isn't that great?" Malerie tried to give Carson support. She wanted Carson's parents to know about this news. This was one pretigious achievement Carson ever got, why didn't he celebrate it by telling it to his mom and dad? They would be so proud of him. Carson shrugged and smirked, "Well, screw it. Besides, they will find out sooner or later. Thanks, Mal. I'll keep you posted as soon as I tell my parents about this." Then, Carson hung up the phone. It was time for him to reveal his biggest achievement to his family.

It was 10 pm, Carson went to the living room to meet Sheryl. He knew his mother was in the living room, because he thought where else would the woman be other than the living room and bathroom? Since the water pump wasn't on, so he assumed his mom was in the living room, lying on the couch, waiting for midnight flick by drinking alcohol or her medication. _Poor her,_ Carson felt sorry for what happened to his mom. If it was not because of her brutal divorce with Neal and how cruel the world was, she wouldn't end up being Betty Ford.

"Mom," Carson sat on the couch where Sheryl fell asleep. He tapped his mother's shoulder gently and woke her up. She was half-asleep, but she could hear her son's word. "Hmm?" Sheryl hummed. Sheryl got rid off the blanket on her face and sat down straight. Carson, ready or not, gave Sheryl the letter from Northwestern without saying a word. Sheryl took the letter and read it carefully. She had hypermetrophy, so she had to hold the paper a few inches away so she could read the paper clearly. Carson waited in anticipation. He waited for his mom's reaction. He was ready for any consequences he could get—it was his dream, not hers, so he was the one who decided everything.

"You get accepted in Northwestern University?" Sheryl asked, still keeping her eyes on the sheet. "Hmm," Carson nodded. _It was time for mother-son talk,_ Carson clenched his hands. "I know you hate this idea of me leaving my past life in Clover and starting a new one in Illinois, but picture this. I, Carson Phillips, Northwestern University, Bachelor of Journalism. Aren't you proud of me? Besides, if I'm succeed, I can rebuild this family. I will take you to get out of this shitty town and we'll work on something, I don't know maybe a therapy, to get rid off your drug addiction." Carson felt as free as a bird. He blurted out all his feelings and thoughts to Sheryl. He couldn't stand watching people having their best moments in life when he just sat on the corner of nothing. He had to do something with his life, something useful.

Hearing what her son had said to her, Sheryl sat in silent. Then, without hesitation, she said, "I get it, Carson. I thought you were a jinx to this family and I couldn't take care of you anymore. But I realized that I gave birth to a genius young man. And the way I asked you to stop chasing after your dream was wrong and stupid. I should've just supported you." Sheryl rubbed his son's back proudly. Finally, Carson could make Sheryl believe in what he got. He was one step closer to show people who Carson Phillips really was. "Thanks, mom." Carson and Sheryl hugged each other for a several seconds. After they got off from each other's arms, Sheryl asked, "Have you told your father about this? Pretty sure he'll be excited, maybe he would spend your next month's child support for a Chevy or something as a gift." Carson smirked,_ although Chevy would be nice and that way I won't drive that fucking Carvair again._ "I haven't. Maybe I could stop by his house after school or something." Carson answered. Carson finally told his mom about his acceptance letter in Northwestern. Finally, he could show someone that he got what it takes to have a bright career. And what made Carson very happy was having his mom believed in him. Without Sheryl's support, Carson was nothing.

After telling his mom about the big news, Carson went back to his room. He had to tell Starla about his achievement. Carson was so excited, that he told three people about his Northwestern letter in one day.

Carson knew Starla's internet schedule every night. Around 10.30, she always opened her computer secretly. She usually checked on her twitter updates or her blog and she ended up doing video chat with Carson. Starla's parents didn't allow the girl to surf the internet for the semester, because she had to keep her grades high, so she could enter Harvard—and finally, she could.

Carson opened his laptop and logged into his video chat account.

_Starla Blair: online_

_Yes, _Carson was ready to tell the news. He pressed the _chat_ button and a window with his face showed up on his laptop. He waited for Starla for awhile, until her face showed up on the screen. "Hi," Carson greeted first. He couldn't hold his excitement, all he wanted to do was saying _I got into Northwestern_ straight to her, but he thought that would be wrong. "Hi." Looking sleepy, Starla in her pink pajamas greeted back. Carson's smiled could heal Starla's pain of missing her man after days not seeing each other.

After seconds of staring blankly at each other, Carson went straight to the business. He showed his Northwestern letter to Starla—_gestures say a thousand words_—then, he said shortly, _"I got in."_ Starla, who was still struggling to read on the paper, screeched loudly until she realized that she was the only person who awoke and directly covered her mouth. "Congratulations!" Starla squealed "I knew you could get into that school! You should be proud of yourself, okay?" Carson shrugged modestly. Starla continued, "Have you told your parents yet? Are you going to celebrate your achievement?" "I've told my mom about this. She is happy for me, thank God, and I don't know, maybe she'll take me to a restaurant or something if she's not afraid of the crowd." Carson said.

After they went on a momentary silent, Starla said "Now that you're going to Northwestern and I'm going to Harvard, how can we spend time together?" Carson's thoughts went to a dead end. He couldn't figure out how to visit Starla in Massachusetts later. It needed big bucks to travel by plane just to get there, but he didn't want to spend a whole day just to travel by car. "We'll figure out a way, okay? I don't know, maybe we could visit each other during breaks or video chat everyday?" "Right, we'll figure out along the way. But, in the meantime, will you come to my graduation?" Starla asked Carson. She wanted someone special to see her in academic dress—and that someone special was Carson. "When is it?" Carson asked. He was longing to see Starla after a long time. He needed to see the girl receiving her certificate while the teacher was saying, "Starla Blair, Harvard University, Law." That would be the proudest moment ever.

_"Next Sunday."_

Suddenly, Carson's wish to see Starla's graduation was crushed. His graduation was on Saturday, he couldn't travel far away when the graduation was a day after his graduation. How could he make it? "Mine's next Saturday." Carson said, disappointed. "What? There's gotta be something that can put us together," Starla couldn't be anymore upset. Suddenly, the girl had an idea, "Fine, I'll just go to Clover to see you. Right after the graduation, you and I will go straight to Lima. We'll make it the next morning, trust me." Carson doubted they could make it to Lima again by dawn, but finger crossed for everything to be perfect. "You're crazy, Starla, you know that." Carson said to Starla. Starla, she was pretty much confident with her decision. She even had a kick ass plan to go to Clover by her own. "I know." Starla smiled sanguinely at the man.

* * *

Just like what Starla had planned by herself, she went straight to her mom to ask for permission to go to Clover. Her mother was cooking dinner in the kitchen when Starla tried to talk to her. "Mom, can I go to Clover? Please?" Starla asked, as her mom chopped carrots and some veggies. "What for? Graduation is just a few days away, Stars. You have to keep your health. You don't want to get sick by the time your teacher gives you the graduation medal, right?" Mrs. Blair disallowed her daughter. Starla pounted, _it's time for some 'reasonable' excuse._ "I want to see Claire's graduation, okay? My graduation is the next day, I'm sure I can make it right on time." Mrs. Blair glanced at Starla for awhile, then continued to slice a beef into pieces and sprinkled it with some seasoning. "Since when did you two get along together?" Mrs. Blair doubted her daughter's reason. Back when they were young, Starla and Claire was not much of cousins and more like nemesis. Every time they met on a family gathering, they always had a fight. But just because of Claire's 'mission' on Carson, she went a little nicer on Starla. "Since we got older and wiser. She visited me weeks ago, remember?" Starla tried to convince her mom, but her mom was tough—her commitment was always strong and unbreakable. Whenever Mrs. Blair said no, it was really a no—_that's it._ Mrs. Blair sniffed something fishy from Starla's excuse. She had never been this desperate in meeting people. There was only one reason that made Starla this psyched up—_a boy_.

"Is it because of Carson?" Mrs. Blair shot Starla the_ it _question. Starla was tongue-tied—_Yup! That's the real reason!_ Starla couldn't lie anymore, she hoped her mom didn't get mad and let her instead. "Yup. I want to see his graduation ceremony. We promised each other to be in each other's graduation no matter what. It's really hard because our graduation ceremonies are this weekend, but I'm sure we can make it. So, pretty pretty please with a cherry on top?" Starla saw her puppy dog face that always worked in any situation. Mrs. Blair couldn't say no to that face. She smiled and said, "Fine. But stay on time, okay? You have to be here by dawn, understand?" Starla was so happy that her mom allowed her to go. She put her thumbs up and said gleefully, "Aye, Aye, Captain!" Then, she drew her usual facial expression back and asked, "Just let me stay in the Matthews, but don't tell my real reason to Claire, okay? Long story short, she hates Carson and I don't want her to get pissed." "I won't, sweetie." Mrs. Blair kissed Starla on the cheek lovingly.

Thursday afternoon, Claire—all the way from Clover—picked Starla up and took her to Claire's hometown. At first Claire didn't want to pick Starla up, but since Mr. Blair refused to give a drive to Starla because he doubted his daughter would come back punctually (but after Mrs. Blair's threw her gentle persuasion at her husband, he allowed Starla half hearted), Claire was the one who took the job.

Starla and Claire travelled by car. Their journey was a full silence. They didn't speak to each other, even the radio wasn't on. Starla kept staring at the arid land alongside the road, while Claire was concentrating on the highway.

When they almost reached the border, Claire began to break the quietness.

"We're here, finally." Claire said, as they reached a green Clover board on the highway. CLOVER: POPULATION 9525 was written on the board. _Wow, this town must be really deserted,_ Starla said. She didn't get used with small town. She knew Lima was pretty much a small town, but the town was crowded and had lots of people and that didn't make it so desolate. As they exited the highway and went straight to Claire's house, Claire asked Starla. "What's your up to?" Claire asked right after they stopped by the intersection. She knew Starla was up to something, she could smell the guile that was hidden behind Starla's back. "I just want to see your graduation ceremony." Starla answered calmly. She had to remain calm and didn't get overreacted, so Claire wouldn't be suspicious on her. "Fine, if you don't want to tell me. But, I know you're planning on something and that's not good." Claire didn't want to interrogate Starla again, she'd better find out herself than ask more question and receive no answer.

One day before graduation, Carson tried to put on his academic dress. The color was black with red accent on its collar and sleeves. He put on a white long sleeves shirt with black pants and red tie. Although he had a white shirt, Carson's father, Neal, insisted to borrow his shirt for the day. He said the shirt could make him look more masculine and commanding.

Carson looked at himself on the mirror. He wore the graduation cap and pretended to have its ribbon shifted from one side to another. He was so proud of himself, he finally could feel the fresh air of being an adult. He could smell college just an inch away. One more step, and he was already in his dream university. _Nice one, Phillips. You're looking great for grad_, Carson said to himself.

Suddenly, Carson wondered, _has Starla arrived in Clover?_ He hadn't got a news from her and every time he called her it always directed to the voice mail. _Is she trying to piss me off and she will scream 'SURPRISE!' On my ears in the end?_ Carson thought. _Well, she will show up eventually, there is no need to panic._

While admiring himself in front of the mirror, Carson heard his mother called him from the living room. "Carson!" "Yeah, yeah, just a second, I'm coming!" Carson quickly stripped himself and switch into his casual clothes—blue polo shirt and jeans—then ran to the sound source.

Sheryl waited on the entrance with Neal and his fiancée, April. They decided to celebrate Carson's Northwestern achievement by eating in a seafood restaurant nearby. "Carson, where are you?!" Sheryl shouted and no longer after that he came out of nowhere. "I'm coming!" Carson landed in front of the adults. Carson, who had no idea Neal and April would come, stared at them surprisingly. "You guys are coming?" Asked Carson. April, rubbing her pregnant belly, answered, "Yes. We thought we should come join the celebration. I mean, you're going to Northwestern! That's amazing!" April smiled. "Shall we?" Sheryl, looking fresher than ever before, opened the door. _"Um, can we go to grandma's grave first? I haven't told her about the news."_ Grandma Phillips was Carson's inspiration. She was the one who read Carson's writing debut. She was the one who cared about reading the Clover High Chronicle. She was the one who loved to listen to her grandson's story, even though she barely even remembered that he was her grandson who was sitting beside her and telling stories. If Grandma Phillips was still alive, she would be thrilled to listen to Carson news about getting into Northwestern University. Even though she had gone, Carson owed her the news. And even though Carson believed his grandma was in heaven, he still could feel her present beside him—supporting every step Carson took.

Sheryl could feel tears rolled on her cheeks. She could feel the pain and longing Carson felt about his grandmother. She could feel the regret and sorrow inside Carson's heart, but he could hide it perfectly behind his joy and smile. "Yeah, sure." Sheryl said. She allowed her boy to visit his grandmother's grave while heading to the restaurant. Sheryl walked out from the house, followed by Neal, April, and Carson. Then, Sheryl locked the door and all of them get inside Neal's car, driving their way to the cemetery.

They finally arrived at Clover Community Cemetery. Carson, Sheryl, Neal, and April soon got down from the car. The cemetery was beautiful, unlike other common cemeteries. It was clean and pretty with beautiful angel statues everywhere. There were colorful flowers growing from one area to another, made it look less scary. There were pretty white doves flying everywhere, since there was a special nest bult just for them. The trees and bushes were big and thick, but they still kept its fine aesthetics. There was a fountain by the entrance, made it look peaceful. Carson was happy for having his grandmother buried in such a beautiful place like this instead of a dark mystical graveyard that looked more like a posessed forest.

It was the third time Carson ever visited his grandmother's grave. It looked just like when they left it a week ago—pretty and fine—but they needed to change the rose on the top of the tomb. Carson was the first one who arrived at the grave. He squatted by the tombstone and said, "Hi, grandma," He held the tombstone and continued, "It's me, Carson, your grandson," Sheryl, Neal, and April watched Carson by a tree from the far. Their eyes started to be watery, even April couldn't hold her tears falling from her eyes. They were touched by the way Carson trying to talk to his grandmother, when he knew she was already gone. Carson still felt her present by his side, guiding him through every way. "I—I want to show you this," Carson quickly shoved his pocket and took his Northwestern acceptance letter. He looked at it for a moment and said, "I got into Northwestern. I—my hard work is finally paid off. I can't believe it," Carson smiled as he started crying happily. If Grandma Phillips was still alive, she would hug Carson tight—but Carson could only feel the cold embrace of the wind. "Aren't you proud of me?" Carson talked like his grandma was facing him, but she never had a chance to reply what he said. Carson's tears rolled down on his cheeks, he said "I wish you were still here, watching me grow up, watching me pursue my career, watching me finally become a real man," Carson let all his sadness out like there was nothing left. He had to express his sorrow and by crying was one of the options. "And everyday, every second, I regret the time I ran away from Clover, because of me your heart was broken and you suffered your grief. I wish I could make your pain disappear, but it's all too late," Carson wiped his tears with his palms and he continued, "But, I feel your present everyday. I feel your warmth and love every second. I know you're trying to tell me something. I know you're trying to support me. Unfortunately, I can't reply everything that you've done to me," Carson giggled, remembering the time he ran away from Clover. _I wish I could tell the truth to grandma before she died, it'd be a funny story,_ he thought. "Funny, the truth is I really got struck by lightning, but I wasn't dead. I should've died in that accident,_ not you_." Before Carson dropped more tears, he got up and said goodbye to his grandmother's grave. "Well, me, mom, dad, and April will grab some lunch. If you were still here, you would come and finish two plates of crabs," Carson giggled, "I'll see you later. Bye." He blew a kiss and left the cemetery, then headed away from some tasty meal.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: One word; GRADUATION! Yup, yup, this is it! Time to say goodbye to high school. But, is it a goodbye for Starla and Carson? We'll find out! Plus, here's a twist; long distance, two ceremonies. Can they deal with the situation? Enjoy :)_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 9**

_Ooo, you make me live_

_whatever this world can give to me_

_It's you, you're all I see_

_Ooo, you make me live now honey_

_Ooo, you make me live_

It was the happiest Saturday morning for Clover High School graduates. They finally reached their graduation day, where they could wear their graduation gowns and caps. The day where the graduates would get their diplomas had arrived. They would have their tassels on their caps switched from one side to another. Their parents would cry because they were proud of their kids—finally they had grown up and ready to start another life.

_You're the best friend that I ever had_

_I've been with you such a long time_

_You're my sunshine_

_And I want you to know that my feelings are true_

_I really love you_

_You're my best friend_

Clover Choir, with the help from the drama department, sang Queen's 'You're My Best Friend' as their principal called the graduates one by one. Scott Thomas took the solo, as he swung around through the legendary hit. Wearing a black gown with its matching cap, the graduates came out from behind the curtain of the school auditorium.

_Ooo, you make me live_

_I've been wandering round_

_But I still came back to you_

_In rain or shine you've stood by me girl_

_I'm happy, happy at home_

_You're my best friend_

As Carson waited for the teacher to call his name and walk on the stage, his heart couldn't stop beating really fast. His turn took forever, even though his name began with the third alphabet. He couldn't wait to walk on the stage, take his diploma, then throw his graduation cap to the air—and maybe someone from the audience would catch it like a wedding bouquet.

_Ooo, you make me live_

_Whenever this world is cruel to me_

_I got you to help me forgive_

_Ooo, you make me live now honey_

_Ooo, you make me live_

"CARSON PHILLIPS, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, JOURNALISM." The principal called out Carson and right after that he ran to the stage excitedly. When the principal called out the university Carson was going to, he felt like he was still in his own dream. He felt like he never made it this far, like it was all just a fantasy—_but it wasn't_.

_You're the first one when things turn out bad_

_You know I'll never be lonely_

_You're my only one_

_And I love the things_

_I really love the things that you do_

_You're my best friend_

The principal switched Carson's tassel, then gave him his diploma. Carson held it in the air proudly. He wanted to cry at the moment, but he wasn't a cry baby. All his hard work, sweat that he let out might and main, had paid off.

A few moments after Carson moved away and let the kid after him got his diploma, Carson caught a glimpse of Starla by the audience. She was standing beside Sheryl, wearing a pink flower print dress and a matching scarf, clapping her hands proudly for her man. Carson was happy that their plan worked—that both of them could go to each other's graduation. Carson couldn't take his eyes off Starla's beautiful wavy locks and her eyes that shot a sharp sight at him. Carson wished he could go to the place where his girl was standing, but he had to wait for all students to get on the stage and officially became grads.

"MALERIE BAGGS!" Malerie came out from the curtain. She had her beautiful goldilocks curled out and wore a pair of soft lenses. Under her big glasses and ponytail, she hid a beautiful figure. Graduation was the right time to show Malerie's beauty to the world.

Carson, as Malerie's one and only best friend, was dazed by her. He never knew the girl was going to do a special self make over and it turned out really good. After she got her diploma, Malerie joined Carson in the middle of the stage. She lunged her arms on Carson. Carson said, "My best friend has turned from dorky geek to drop dead gorgeous!" Malerie laughed out loud and replied, "Thank you, Carson. My mom did this for me. She said I could use the lenses once in awhile to attract guys," Carson knew who Malerie got her eyes on; Scott Thomas. She knew her love was just a fantasy deep inside her hopeless dream—since the boy was gay—but Malerie thought Scott could change his mind, just like the way Nicholas Forbes digged girls when he was clearly in relationship with Thomas. Malerie elbowed Carson and glanced at Scott, who was impersonating some Freddie Mercury charismatic stage act. "Girl, you can do better than that! There must be someone who will love you for who you are." Carson said. "Speaking of love," Malerie glanced at Starla and said, "Your girlfriend and your family have gotten really close. And since this is like the first time I see your girlfriend, I must say she's beautiful. You're one lucky man, Carson." Malerie and Carson threw smiles at each other. "Thank you." Carson thanked.

_Ooo, you make me live_

_I'm happy, happy at home_

_You're my best friend_

_You're my best friend_

_Ooo, you make me live_

_You, you're my best friend_

"SCOTT THOMAS, NEW YORK ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ARTS—" it was time for Scott to take his diploma and officially became a graduate. He stopped singing and gave the mic to the choir, then took his diploma. Carson was amazed by the achievement Scott could get. He thought Scott was just a school cliché, where he ended up stuck in Clover. _And... Wait, did he just say NYADA?_ Carson remembered the time his 'long-lost twin', Kurt, told him that he was going to NYADA._ Whoa, don't tell me they're going to the same school. _

"Scott, NYADA?" Carson pulled Scott's sleeve, which caught Scott in just a snap.

Scott nodded and said, "Yup, bitches, I'm going to Broadway. NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW!" As he sashayed away to Mr. Principal.

The choir sang a usual graduation hymne when the graduates gathered on the center stage and got ready to throw their caps to the air. "1, 2, 3!" They flew their caps until they reached the ceiling and confetti spread around the sky. Balloons, bubbles, and joy fulfilled the whole auditorium. It was a perfect ending for perfect four school years.

When the graduation was over, everyone got busy with their own stuff. Some gathered with their friends, some gather with their families, and some others just ditched the ceremony without any companion. After Malerie went away with her family for some delicious treat, Carson gathered together with his family and Starla. As soon as they met by the exit, Carson hugged and shared kisses with his parents, April, and Starla. Carson smooched his girfriend's lips gently, as they circled around each other's arms on each other's bodies. "So, when will you go to Illinois? You know I can pay for your trip, you can call me any time." Neal asked his son. Carson smiled and answered, "I guess I will spend my summer here first, then split maybe two weeks before summer is over." He embraced Starla beside him. "Finally, I can call my son _the Northwestern Guy_. And you have a very supportive girlfriend right here." Sheryl rubbed Carson's head proudly. Starla was flattered right after her future mother-in-law told her she was supportive. "Thank you, mam, and your son is a great man." She said. "Yeah, sure he is. I'm one lucky mom." Sheryl said, she couldn't stop smiling gleefully.

"Stars, let's go home!"

Claire shouted from the far. She ran to her cousin and pulled Starla's hand. Starla refused to come with Claire and said, "Umm, I don't think so. I have to catch my graduation ceremony and Carson will take me back to Lima. I've put my suitcase in his trunk, in case if you're wondering." Claire sniffed her nose, _so this is why she visits Clover_. Claire walked straight to the exit, then she made a final stop behind Carson and bumped her shoulder at Carson in purpose. "Well, whatever. I got into Juilliard dance department and I won't see you guys ever again." She said. "Seriously? Juilliard? Since when did you guys have the aim to get out of Clover and be someone?" Carson furrowed. _"Well, you said someone has to be ballerina."_ Claire replied, as she tried to remind Carson about the conversation they both had months ago. She winked and bitched out of the auditorium.

Starla, still hanging on Carson's arm, asked Carson and the Phillips, "Hmm, do you want to grab some lunch before we go? Maybe you guys are hungry, I can wait in the choir room until you get back." _"Nah, _I don't want you to be late for your graduation." Carson answered, then he kissed Starla's forehead gently. Starla was lucky to have a loyal, charming, and caring boyfriend like Carson. "Mom, dad, April, we're going to Ohio. I'll be back by tomorrow, okay?" Carson asked for permission to his family. Sheryl, who understood her son's condition perfectly, allowed him to go. "Okay. Take care of yourself." She rubbed her son's head. Carson nodded. Then, Carson took Starla's hand and dragged her out to the parking lot. They ran through the hallway—_full speed_—then, jumped into Carson's car and left the town. Carson had to do the Clover-Lima journey all over again for the third time, but he didn't mind as long as his love was beside him.

* * *

Mr. And Mrs. Blair were worried about Starla. They hadn't received a news about their girl and where she was now. The graduation ceremony was a few minutes away and Starla wasn't there. The Blairs regretted their decision to let Starla go to Clover. Starla had broken her promise to go home on time. Now the Blairs could only pray for Starla to be there, all dressed up, punctually.

_five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_six hundred minutes_

_five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_moments so dear_

_five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_six hundred minutes_

_how do you measure- measure a year?_

The New Directions kids performed in the graduation. A year ago, the seniors, Finn Hudson and Noah 'Puck' Puckerman, sang Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days in the ceremony. But, this time was different— the sophomores also sang on the auditorium stage. They wore all-black formal dresses for girls and shirt + pants for boys. They sang a mash up of Rent's "Seasons of Love" and Vitamin C's graduation anthem "Graduation Song (Friends Forever)".

Starla's parents took seats beside Marley's parents—their parents got along very well—and waited for the Principal, Principal Figgins, announced the names of the graduates.

_in daylights, in sunsets_

_in midnights, in cups of coffee_

_in inches, in miles_

_in laughter, in strife_

"Come on, fast, go! Can you drive faster? God, please, stop Principal Figgins from announcing my name!" Starla cried over the fact that they were still on the school front gate. She couldn't stop crying and screaming on the top of her lungs. Carson was burned and he needed Starla to stop shouting. "Yes, yes! We're coming to the graduation! Shut your freaking mouth, please!" Carson's ears were burnt with anger. All he wanted to do was throwing a ball of shitty socks into Starla's mouth, so she would stop yelling at him.

_in- five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_six hundred minutes_

_how do you measure_

_a year in the life?_

Carson and Starla had no choice—they parked Carson's car in the middle of traffic, while Starla was grabbing her bright red graduation gown and cap, and putting it on. Starla jumped out of the car, followed by Carson who got out from the driver seat. They ignored the sound of people honking at them because they were so late for the event. Carson and Starla could hear the new directions singing in harmony, and that was where they were heading.

_how about love?_

_how about love?_

_how about love?_

_measure in love_

Starla ran fast to backstage. She shot her own body like a cannonball and let her walk through the crowd of grads. Carson took a seat beside Kurt, who was waiting for Blaine to come out. Without other glee club members around them, their face were like peas in a pod. People were mistaken them as if they really came from the same womb.

_seasons of love_

_seasons of love_

"STARLA BLAIR!" Principal Figgins called out Starla with his rich Indian accent. And just in time, she opened the curtain on the backstage and ran to the stage.

The entrance was beside the place where the glee club sang, so as soon as she found the right key to the next lyric, she sang it together with Marley and Unique. Hand clapping were echoed all over the auditorium and some of them did a special standing ovation—_including Starla's parents and Carson._

"Toldja she could make it." Mrs. Blair whispered on Mr. Blair's ear.

_five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_six hundred minutes_

_five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_journeys to plan_

Dynamic duo Marley and Unique took the next verse by themselves as Starla took her diploma and had Ms. Pillsbury switched Starla's tassel. Just like Carson, she held her diploma high in the air proudly. Her happy tears started to roll down and almost ruined her eye liner.

From the stage, Starla could see her parents cheering from the audience. She laughed at how funny the way Starla's parents supported her like football spectators. On the east side from where the Blairs were standing, Starla gazed at Carson who was standing next to Kurt—who was standing too. Carson smiled proudly and didn't stop clapping his hands. Unlike Starla's parents, Carson kept his cool and cheered his girl the way people usually cheered at someone—_with more love and feeling._

Starla was in her glory, she had reached the top of her school life. 4 years of education had paid off by entering one of the prestigious universities in the world. She had shown everyone she had done her best at last.

_five hundred twenty-five thousand _

_six hundred minutes_

_how do you measure the life_

_of a woman or a man?_

"BLAINE ANDERSON!" Just like Starla, Blaine burst into the song. He ran by the wing door and passed by Kurt, who was cheering for him enthusiastically. Last year, he stood by the audience to cheer for Kurt, but now he was having his own moment.

_in truths that she learned_

_or in times that he cried_

_in bridges he burned_

_or the way that she died_

It was a repetition for Blaine. After he got his diploma, he joined Starla, Sam, Sugar, Brittany, Joe, and Artie on the center stage. They sang along with the sophomores—Marley, Unique, Jake, and Ryder—and formed a harmonized choir.

"TINA COHEN-CHANG!" Tina was the one who had the grandest and most comical enter—she hid behind the drum set and popped out after Figgins called out her name. Tina's glee club friends laughed at her, but she didn't mind with it. Tina sang the verse in solo, with the choir backing up her vocal.

_it's time now- to sing out_

_though the story never ends_

_let's celebrate_

_remember a year in the life of friends_

After Tina went to the stage to receive her diploma, she joined other New Directions kids. Confetti flew around the auditorium and the grads kicked the balloons that fell from the ceiling. It was a moment of joy. If school was a fairy tale, graduation would be the happy ending.

Tina and Brittany ran to the band and sang the Vitamin C hit. Brittany started to cry after she found out that she graduated. She flunked out last year and this year she proved that she could do better in her education, and she could join Santana for some college journey.

_remember the_

_As we go on_

_We remember_

_All the times we_

_Had together_

_And as our lives change_

_Come whatever_

_We will still be_

_Friends Forever_

For half of the New Directions members, it was the last year of their school. They had to move forward and study in a higher level—_college_. Tears and joy filled the room and love flew around the atmosphere.

_La, la, la, la:_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_La, la, la, la:_

_We will still be friends forever_

_how about love?_

_how about love?_

_how about love?_

Tina took a solo. She circled her arms around Starla, Brittany, Marley, Sugar, Kitty, and Unique. It was the last hug she had before she finally got out of McKinley High School.

_Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?_

_Can we survive it out there?_

_Can we make it somehow?_

_I guess I thought that this would never end_

_And suddenly it's like we're women and men_

Brittany took the next part. She kept her hands around the girls and they swung around through the melody.

_Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?_

_Will these memories fade when I leave this town?_

_I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye_

_Keep on thinking it's a time to fly_

The New Directions and other graduates sang the Graduation Song chorus, as tears fell from everyone's eyes and the confetti got thicker and thicker around the room. It was their final moment and the climax of the ceremony. No matter who they were—jocks, nerds, theatre geeks, gays—the graduates united as one.

_As we go on, we remember_

_All the times we had together_

_And as our lives change, come whatever_

_We will still be friends forever_

_As we go on, we remember_

_All the times we had together_

_And as our lives change, come whatever_

_We will still be friends forever_

_Forever_

_Seasons of love_

The song was over with Wade 'Unique' Adams belted out the final part. The ceremony was a wrap. It ended perfectly, just like what the teachers and students hoped. The McKinley High School class 2013 had finished their up and down high school journey. They had finally earn the prize of their sweat and hard work—graduated and said goodbye forever to high school. There would be no more bullies and who-eats-whom law, because they finally had their own ways ahead.

After the graduation ceremony ended, Starla rushed to meet her parents, who were waiting for her by the audience. "Congratulations, kiddo!" Mr. Blair patted his daughter's shoulder proudly. Starla smiled, as both parents circled their arms on the girl. "We really need to celebrate this. How about we go to Breadstix and have a lunch there?" Mrs. Blair asked Starla. It sounded great in Starla's ears, besides she needed to fill her stomach after all the Clover-Lima journey. "YES! I'M FAMISHED!" Said Starla, rubbing her empty belly. Then, she remembered there was a guy who was waiting for her. He was Carson. Starla smiled and said, "Hey, I'll go check on Carson and ask if he wants to go to Breadstix with us." "Sure, hun." Mrs. Blair answered, smiling. Then, Starla ran after Carson and approached him.

Starla stopped and gripped Carson's shoulders who was facing the opposite side. He was talking to Kurt and Blaine and congratulated Blaine on his graduation. "HEY!" Starla exclaimed on Carson's ears. As soon after that, Carson grabbed Starla's waist, lifted and twirled her body around, then hugged her tight. "Oh, look, it's my Harvard Princess!" Carson panted after the heavy lifting. He put his girl down and Starla asked, "Do you want to go to Breadstix with my parents? We're going to have a little celebration and I insist you to come with us." Carson had nothing to do in Lima, so he agreed to go to Breadstix with the Blairs. "Sure, sounds great!" Besides, he had to support his girlfriend fully. Then, the two followed Mr. And Mrs. Blair to the exit and went straight to Breadstix for some tasty treat.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Hi! This will be the last chapter of Lucky Strike. Goodbyes, college, and the end of the story. But, not to worry, I will post more fanfics to read, but for now please enjoy the 10th chapter of Lucky Strike :)_

**Lucky Strike - Chapter 10**

Carson and the Blairs had a wonderful time at Breadstix. They ate, talked about each other's life, and Carson got a chance to explain his real life after all the lies he had for the past few months. "I'm just a small town boy with a big dream. Once, I was struck by lightning and my brain worked crazily. I decided to run away from my house to chase my dreams. I left my family and schoolmates who should support my dream, but turned out the opposite. I was planning to go to New York, but what the hell I would do in New York if I haven't graduated from high school? I would be a hobo on the street or something," Carson told his life story to Starla's parents. Mr. And Mrs. Blair were amazed by Carson's story, _how could such a young man have to deal with such a tough life?_ "So, I took a detour and arrived in Ohio. I stopped by, stayed in a motel, and started a life alone here." "Wow, you have one tough life, young man," Mr. Blair said. "And turns out you have your own magazine, get accepted in Northwestern, and graduate with good grades. Your parents must be proud of you." Carson smirked. When people thought his parents got their hands on his back, the situation was reversed for Carson. "They're not, actually. In fact, they kept trying to push me away from my dreams. I can't let that happen, can I?" Carson shrugged. "But after they found out about my Northwestern Acceptance letter, they fully supported me no matter what. They even took me to a restaurant and they sat on the same table, that wasn't something I experienced daily." The Blairs knew what Carson was trying to say—that his parents had divorced—and they just stared at him sympathetically. Starla glanced at Carson proudly, she knew he was the one.

"We're really glad to meet a brave man like you, Carson. And we're very lucky to have you as our daughter's boyfriend. You can be the light that always guides our Starla to a brighter way." Mr. Blair said, as he spooned his chocolate cake for dessert. Carson glanced at Starla romantically and replied, "No, sir, I should be the one who says I'm very lucky to have Starla. She is a smart and beautiful girl. I can see how she got her brain and beauty." Carson tried to take the Blairs' heart by complimented both parents. They laughed, it was a great humor to break the ice between the conversation.

The Blairs let Carson stay at their residence for a few days until Starla headed to Massachusetts and underwent her 4 years in Harvard. Starla begged for her man to stay until she got into plane and Carson agreed. Carson would also go to Illinois 2 days after Starla's departure. He couldn't wait to smell the fresh air of Evanston as soon as he got there.

Finally, the day Starla flew to Massachusetts had come. Starla, Starla's parents, and Carson went to Lima Allen County Airport. As soon as they arrived by the entrance, Carson helped the girl brought down her luggage. And then, both lovebirds hugged each other.

"I'm gonna miss you, Stars." Carson said.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Cars." Starla replied, as she sank her teary face on Carson's chest.

Both Carson and Starla knew this was not their last meeting. They promised to visit each other during breaks. They had to get use to be alone for the next 6 months. Starla pulled her body back and wiped her tears. "Give me a call as soon as you arrive, k?" Carson held Starla's hands. Starla nodded. "And promise to visit each other during holidays?" Starla said, smiling. Carson laughed and nodded. "Yeah, of course." Then, Carson gave Starla a soft kiss on her lips. Few seconds later, they pulled back before the Blairs saw what happened.

Mr. And Mrs. Blair got out of the car and gave Starla a very big group hug. They had to say goodbye to their daughter. They had to let Starla study in university and pursue her dream career. Mr. And Mrs. Blair were proud to have a girl like Starla, who didn't give up to get what she wanted. "It's just 4 years, mom, and I'll be back. Besides, I will visit you guys during breaks, don't worry." Starla said by the time her mom hugged her and cried because she thought she would never see her daughter again. "Take care of yourself, pumpkin." Said Mr. Blair while patting Starla's shoulder. "You can count on me, dad." Starla replied, smiling. Then, she dragged her luggage and went inside. Her flight was in two hours, so she got plenty of time to wait. Carson took her to the entrance. He whispered, "If I found a guy sticking his tongue inside your throat by the time I visit, I would violently abuse him in the way you can't imagine." In their last moment, Starla couldn't believe Carson could throw a comical threat like that. Starla threw her fist to her man's biceps and replied, "Of course, I won't cheat on you. You're like the best and only man I've ever had," suddenly, Starla threw a ferocious glance at Carson and continued, "And if I found you playing house with a slutty bitch, I would shoot a bullet at her mercilessly and I would have no hesitation to throw you out of the window."

Carson didn't expect the reply Starla gave to him, but the point was that they didn't want cheat on each other. They had to face the long distance relationship that could break them apart. Even if the storm had to break the place where they stood on, they would never break each their love. _Ever_.

"Deal." Carson shortly replied, as the gate separated both of them for a long goodbye.

* * *

Carson went back to Clover to prepare things up for his college years in Northwestern. After he took Starla to the airport, he went home and arrived on the following day. As soon as he entered his house, Carson packed his bag with the help of Sheryl. Carson put his books and documents into a big bag while Sheryl was folding her son's clothes and put it into the luggage. The packing was pretty quiet in the first minutes, but Sheryl could warm things up by asking simple things to Carson who was in a deep serious thought when he threw his journal into the bag.

"4 years... You're in Illinois and I'm in Clover. It's not going to be a short time, is it?" Sheryl smirked while folding Carson's favorite hoodie. "Well, do you want to live with me in Illinois? I mean, we can rent an apartment, live together, and never come back." Carson offered Sheryl to move. She wanted to, but she didn't want to exaggerate her son while he was trying to finish his college. She didn't want to be the pain in Carson's ass. "Nope, I guess I'll just stay in Lima and wait for my only son to grow up. And 4 years later when you come back to Clover, I will be very proud because my son has turned into a fine gentleman." Sheryl said, sipping her cigarette. She was trying to stop her drugs addiction. She erased three-quater medicine on her medication list and tried not to visit her doctor very often. She had done all the above, but she couldn't quit smoking—_baby steps,_ Sheryl thought.

Carson sat on his bed and stared blankly at the window. He said, "what if I never come back? What if I don't want to come back? I just, Clover is a hideous parasite in the United States of America. I really want to move to New York and work there. Stat. And I really want you to come with me." Sheryl knew what her son wanted. She got what he was saying. She tapped Carson's thigh and smiled, "I'm not trying to hold you here, Carson. Just go, live your dream. But, you need to look at this parasite for the last time and realize that you were raised in this paradise. After that, take me wherever you want to be and we shall never look at this place ever again." Carson smiled. After all, there are so many memories that he would never forget in Clover, that he had to visit the town once in awhile. His father, April, his baby brother, Malerie, _his grandma. _"Yeah, mom. Thanks." Carson smiled, as they both shared a loving hug.

* * *

Clover had no airport. So whenever someone had to travel by plane, he had to drive miles away to reach the nearest city and go to the airport. Carson, driving his dying car, went to the nearest airport to fly to his next destination; _Illinois_. He drove miles away with Sheryl, Neal, and April, and finally arrived at the airport.

Carson took his luggage and bag from the car's trunk. Then, he hugged his parents and April for a goodbye. "I guess it's a goodbye for now." Carson said while throwing his arms on Sheryl's body. "I'm gonna miss my little boy." Sheryl replied. "Mom..." Carson quickly released his body from his mom's and judged at what she just said. "Oh, come on! You're still my little boy no matter how big you are. And you always wanted to fly. In just a few hours you will fly by plane. Finally, I can use the quotes from your story for something!" _Once upon a time, there was a boy who wanted to fly. Once upon a time, there was a boy who flew_, Carson understood. He just laughed at Sheryl's joke like it was really funny for him.

Standing just a few inches from Sheryl was April. She was rubbing her baby bump who soon would give birth in just a few months. Carson walked closer to the woman and asked for her permission to rub her belly. "Can I...?" Carson put his hand on April's belly and rubbed it gently._ Hey, fetus boy, _Carson called out his soon-to-be brother inside his heart. April smiled and said, "Your brother. I wish he could be just like you—passionate, ambitious, smart, and charming." Carson was flattered. The only thing that he could see from himself was that he was an asshole. Carson never saw his charming self, the one that April told him. "I hope so. Just give me a call or send me a picture if you've delivered him." Carson said. "We'll do, sweetie." April replied.

Neal, Carson's dad, hugged his son as soon as the boy walked towards him. "Come." Neal hugged Carson for a long period and made his son suffocated. Then, Carson said "Dad, are you going to let me go or let me die in your arms?" Neal stopped hugging Carson. He smiled and said, "Son, I never officially apologize to you after what I did to this family. It was hard to leave my wife and my only son alone and made them go through a tough life—" "_Yeah, like you did. Like you left us in the middle of the night when I was 12._ Dad, you've ruined our lives and you can still smile like a cat who's trying to hold its droppings? _Please_." Carson was mad about the divorce his parents had. If they had never been such selfish asses, he would have never gone through his miserable life. "I know, son. So, that's why I want to say sorry before you go. I'm sorry for being a bad father, I'm sorry for not being right there for you every time you need me, I'm sorry for making you hate your life. I'm sorry—" "Dad, before you start making an endless list about your mistakes, I get it. I forgive you," Carson cut his father's word before he was finished. Then, he pulled his lugagge and dragged it to the airport entrance. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a flight to catch and I don't want to be late for my first day in Northwestern." "TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, KIDDO!" Neal shouted as Carson kept walking inside. Carson turned around and waved at his family, then left. And finally, Carson was gone to Illinois and started to build his college life there for the next 4 years. _It was going to be one hell of an adventure!_

* * *

_Northwestern University, Illinois_

_Carson Phillips_

_Journalism_

Those were written on Carson's new ID card that he had to keep for the next 4 years. He was officially a student in one of the best universities in the States and he couldn't help but smiling just to think about it. His life was more like a fairytale than a reality. Every time he woke up, all he could think about was _how the hell he could get into the school, staying in the best dorm, and having such great new college friends?_ Carson couldn't fix the missing link that connected his life. He just had to be grateful for what he had done.

First days at Northwestern were rough for the Clover Boy. He had to deal with administration stuff, mean teachers and their weird teaching methods that sometimes Carson had to shake his head in disagreement. Carson's way of thinking was different with his teachers'. His philosophy beliefs and thoughts were way beyond his teachers', but his teachers always denied them. Carson was fine with it at first, but then again it was not because of Carson's thoughts that were wrong—it was because of the jealousy his teachers had for having such a genius student. "But, what if the readers opinions are illusion that we create inside our minds? Do we have to follow their opinions, because in my opinion, we have to stay to the truth—believe in ourselves. Stating our own opinion and just express ourselves in the article we write. And I'm sorry, with all due respect, I disagree." Carson said, stating his opinion to the whole class. He was right, we had to believe in ourselves. But, the teacher, Mr. Moore didn't believe in him. "Get out of my class." Mr. Moore pointed at the door furiously. His mustache lined straight every time he got angry. Carson didn't mind to leave the class, all he did was telling the truth—facing Mr. Moore's butt to the mirror. Carson got off his chair, strapped his bag, and left the building. He didn't forget to stomp his chair to express his anger and slam the door hard. Carson was not a good student on the first day and he was not trying to be one. All he wanted to do was just learning and stating his own opinion that he thought he was right.

Carson was so grateful to have a roommate like Jim. Jim was a tall brunette guy who used to be the school jock, but unlike one of the populars in Clover High slash Claire Matthews' beau, Justin 'DJ' Walker (DJ was the nickname Carson gave, meaning Dumb Jock), he was a smart guy. He loved playing football, but his ultimate passion was on writing. He loved writing sonnets and short stories, but his heart was on jounalistic. He always wanted to be an army—fighting over dictators, shooting enemies with a really big gun, seeing blood and gore all over the soil—but his parents never allowed him. So, he entered Northwestern and hoped to graduate with good grades, and he wished he could work in a famous news channel like CNN. That way, they could send Jim to a battlefield like the Middle East and give him a chance to report a full coverage on the war. Carson thought Jim's plan was insane, but Jim always said _hard work came with a good price_, and that was something Carson had achieved.

Right after Mr. Moore escorted Carson to the exit, Carson went to his dorm to take some rest. He could ask his classmates for the notes Mr. Moore gave, so he wouldn't miss what the teacher had taught. When he entered his room, Carson found Jim playing a ball on his bed. Jim had no class that afternoon, so he spent his time lying on his bed and paid the last 5 hours of sleeping that he missed because he had to finish his paper in Mrs. Jean's broadcasting 101 classroom. Carson slammed the door and threw himself to the couch. "Angry Phillips. What did I miss?" Jim asked while laying on his bed, tossing his soccer ball to the ceiling. "Mustache Moore kicked me out after stating my own opinion. What the fuck is wrong with that guy? Was he born in an unknown dimension? Is he some kind of communist psychopath that hates liberalism and democracy so much that he has to kick a student out for giving an opinion of what he thinks it's right?" Carson sank his head into the pillow. Jim stopped listening to Carson after he said Mustache Moore kicked him out. Jim knew how Mr. Moore was like and Carson was no competition for the big guy. "Dude, he is a tiger. Even if you hold onto your words until the tip of the knife slices your vein, he won't agree to what you think. I've tried and trust me, it didn't work so well." Jim said, sitting up and resting his head on the headboard. He quit playing ball after seeing his roomies having a really tough time. "Yeah, I mean, when your parents forbid you from joining the army, did you give your own opinion? Did you fight for your desire?" Carson sat still and faced Jim. He was still pissed, but having his head sunk between pillows didn't make him feel better—in fact, he suffered from breathing difficulty. "Yeah, I did. But, I didn't want to argue with them. They know me the best, so," Jim looked at his watch._ Lunch time,_ his stomach was grumbling. Jim walked to the exit and said to Carson, "I'm gonna grab some lunch. Want some?" Carson shook his head, "No, thanks. I'm full of Mustache Moore's rant. I'm done." Jim raised his eyebrows, _okay then_, then left the room.

Carson was alone in his room. He was bored, so he opened his laptop. He got an idea to do a webcam chat with someone. Starla? No, she's probably attending class or something, I don't want to bother her. _Mom? No, she's probably taking a very good nap and if I disturb her, she probably will smack me with a bottle of wine from her computer screen. Dad? He's probably busy with the whole real estate thing._ Carson knew who he could talk with. He opened April's profile and fortunately she was online. _She must be at home, taking care of her son, _Carson thought. He waited patiently for a moment until April's face finally appeared on the screen.

"Carson!" April exclaimed "We miss you!" Carson was glad to have someone who missed him. Besides April, there was someone who joined the chat convo. "Hey, little guy! What's his name?" Carson saw a cute little baby boy on April's arms. He was sleeping peacefully between a blue baby blanket that wrapped his body. He looked like a sweet innocent angel who was made of heavenly light. "Carson," April answered, smiling "We thought if we named it similar to you, his life would be as successful as you." Carson was flattered with all the compliment April threw at him. He smiled and said, "Yeah, Carson Junior. He's handsome, just like me." Carson and April laughed hard. He knew how to crack a joke between a conversation. "Yeah, he is. And I wish you were here, so you could see your little brother's cute little laugh and dance every time The Isley Brothers' Shout is on the radio." Carson could imagine how cute Carson Jr would be when he danced through a vintage rock n roll song. "One time, Sheryl played I Will Survive, I ran around the neighborhood—so, I know how it feels," Carson said "Speaking of my mom, does she know about you guys naming the baby Carson?" April nodded. "Yeah, she knows and agrees. First I thought she would bang some furniture because no one would never use the name, not even her ex's son." Carson relieved. Sheryl was always mad about nearly everything, so he thought the woman would be mad because of the naming.

April remembered something. "Carson," she said "I need your help. If you don't mind and not busy, I was hoping maybe you could write a story for your brother. I'm tired of reading him classic tales like Cinderella and Jack, so maybe you could create something new. The deadline is anytime. I know you're busy with your college, but maybe you could spent your free time writing for Carson Jr.". In that moment, Carson quickly agreed. "Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun. How will I ever show the real Carson to Carson Jr beside by the thing that I know best?" April was happy. She thanked Carson for the help. "Geez, thanks, Carson," suddenly, Carson Jr woke up from his sleep. He knew his brother and mother were talking about him. "Shh, don't cry, boo boo. Time for diaper change! Carson, I gotta go. Bye." Carson waved his hand goodbye, and right after that April ended the chat and turned off the computer._ That was fun_, Carson felt so close to home after the chat. 4 years later, Carson Jr would be 3 years old and Carson would visit him and spend his time with his baby brother. He couldn't imagine how the two Carson playing together and probably Carson Sr would teach his Junior how to throw sarcasms at people—_that would be a blast_.

Carson put back his laptop. He was alone and bored. _What should I do?_ Turned out, no one left Carson alone—someone knocked at the door. Carson thought it was probably one of his neighbors who wanted to borrow a soap or something. He opened the door and he was surprised to see a familiar brunette-haired girl, wearing a sky blue top, black hot pants, ankle boots, a black backpack and a Harvard varsity jacket came to visit. _It was Starla._

_"Hey, Northwestern guy. Surprised?"_

**THE END**

**Ps: Reviews, Critics and suggestions are still accepted!**

**And, should I make more chapters about Carson's college life? Please, let me know :)**


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